Start, a depression-monitoring mobile app developed by Iodine, has been deployed across San Francisco-based TMS Health Solutions clinics in what marks the first instance of an app built with Apple CareKit software being used for mental health in a clinical setting.
Initial research into the efficacy of Start suggests that after six weeks, 46 percent of users say they're responding well to treatment, compared with 33 percent of patients prescribed antidepressants. The app allows users to track and report progress in real-time, which clinicians can then access and objectively measure.
THS clinicians receive regular updates in the form of faxes sent from the app, and can make comments on reports generated by Start. The developers say the app's ability to track progress over time is likely to result in improved outcomes for patients with depression.
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