Digital Health Supporting Mental Wellbeing

The UK is seeing an explosion in mental health digital services and support. The strong growth of
this sector of mHealth Apps supports that view, as patients and clients are clearly ready to embrace new digital services.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to an unprecedented rise in levels of the number of people in need of mental health services1. The growth and potential of mHealth is undeniable, however the new and evolving risks of digitizing mental health services and support have to be recognised.

Some providers rely on technology to deliver their services, some look to support individuals and organisations managing mental health related matters acting as a conduit to booking a therapy session, and then getting to speak directly with a qualified therapist.

Businesses in this arena often have complex operating models, involving a blend of technology, things like Artificial Intelligence, algorithms and tracking, which are then followed by appointments or intervention with a therapist, a counsellors or other similar professional.

There are liability risks for each separate party to this service, and means that accountability may not be clear. It may lie with the therapists or counsellor directly, however there may be instances the technology company, and any other partners, may be held liable for any errors or omissions raised by clients.

• Companies that handle data collected from the device if part of the service. Those that are designing, developing, AI, Chat bots or services linked to Mhealth support and more.
• Companies in a vendor capacity, i.e. software houses. The range of examples is endless, from data security concerns i.e. hacking and theft of users details, through to the failure of software in a device causing an injury or worse.

The range of interconnected services and devices will only continue to grow, which in turn will only increase the use and sharing of data and professional responsibilities. This means the emergence of new and evolving risks. A good insurance programme is of course a backstop for the potential financial impact of such risks.

Claims examples

1. If signals of high stress or anxiety levels are missed, either by the therapist/ counsellor or via a smart App and this leads to self-harm or worse, this then has the potential to lead to a claim for miss advice or injury of damage alleged from the service provided.
2. A complaint was filed against a psychologist alleging negligent misconduct and injuries to the claimant’s marriage, caused by having an inappropriate text relationship with the husband of the couple being treated by the psychologist.

Examples of claims scenarios are not based on actual claims, but are highlighted and shared to evidence where claims may emanate, it should also be noted that insurance coverage provided is very much on a client by client basis so may not provide all the coverage for the examples shown in this ‘discussion document
 

¹ https://www.cqc.org.uk/publications/major-reports/soc202021_01d_mh-care-demand