Advancing the adoption, integration and testing of technological advancements within existing care systems

Abstract

Objective
This manuscript reviews the work on uptake and dissemination of health information technologies in mental health populations and settings, with the goal of informing the future research agenda.

Methods
We reviewed both the formal and “grey” literature describing the rates and correlates of uptake for electronic health records (EHRs) and personal health records (PHRs) for general and specialty mental health settings.

Results
Rates of uptake and use of EHRs and PHRs are low in general medical settings, and the limited evidence suggests even lower rates for specialty mental health settings. Many of the patient, provider and system-level characteristics associated with lower rates of use in general populations would be expected to be exacerbated in mental health settings.

Conclusions
The findings suggest a need to better understand both the causes and strategies for overcoming barriers to uptake of health information technology (HIT) in mental health settings. Observational studies could help to better elucidate the barriers to adoption of HIT that are unique or disproportionate in mental health populations. Implementation science studies are needed to better identify strategies for addressing these barriers and optimizing uptake of mental health HIT interventions.