Mental Health Care Game-Changers: Technology and Social Networks

Jen Hyatt The world of health care breeds innovative thinkers, radicals, people who see and act to ‘make things better.’ So why is health care so often not a place of change, but a place of stasis? Change can be disorientating, and large systems can suffer from barriers to innovations that are hard to break through. And while, with resolve and vision, these can be tackled it is much harder to bring about change that requires a shift in power. This sort of change tends to create fear, often legitimate, that something will have to be lost or given up to enable a change to become embedded. But, by using technology and social networks such changes in healthcare can be realized. Many of us are no longer willing to be passive consumers of care, and want to be more involved in managing our own health journeys. Increasingly, we ask for data to validate our medical and health choices and track our own state of health and well-being. For me, the most interesting technologies are those that focus on providing control to the individual through offering reliable data, high levels of engagement, personalized choices, access to clinical support and a strong focus on information and clinical governance. With this in mind I founded Big White Wall (BWW) in 2007 using technology to help people make connections between thoughts, emotions, and human beings. BWW draws much of its strength from the power of peers, not trained professionals. Not necessarily the people who see themselves as lea...
Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Consumer Health Care DW UK Innovation Mental Health Technology Source Type: blogs