Topic: Anxiety, Depression, Life Stress, Sleep, Suicide, Resilience
Target Population: Adolescents, Adults, Veterans, Service Members, Clinicians
Sector: Community-Based
Military Sector: All Branches, Veterans Affairs
This program is for clinicians and their patients who include adolescents, adults, Service members, and veterans.
The NeuroFlow application (app), a community-based mobile health (mHealth) application with integrated behavioral health functions, is designed to increase access to quality care and use of evidence-based behavioral health resources through remote monitoring and self-guided tools.
One retrospective cohort study was conducted in which participants from a treatment group were compared to participants from a treatment as usual (TAU) group on emergency department utilization and experiences of depression and anxiety symptoms. Results at a 6-month follow-up indicated significant decreases in the number of emergency department visits and significant decreases in experiences of depression and anxiety symptoms for participants in the treatment group compared to participants in the TAU group. Results from a retrospective review of deidentified patient data indicated reductions in suicidal ideation, depression, and anxiety at 8- and 24-week follow-ups. Although the app is implemented in military populations, there have been no evaluations published in peer-reviewed journals of the app’s impact among Service members or veterans.
NeuroFlow is a cloud-based tool that facilitates behavioral health access, engagement, and remote measurement-based care. The platform provides a patient-facing mobile app with an accompanying clinician-facing web platform that provides clinical-decision support. Clinicians who have access to the NeuroFlow mHealth platform can send individualized links to their patients, and, then, the patient can download the mobile app on their smartphone or access the program through a website on a smartphone or computer. Participants can use the app or desktop interface to record, track, and report the following:
The app also offers mindfulness tools, journal prompts, step tracking, and educational videos and self-care activities based on users’ self-reported scores and changes in symptoms over time. All measurements are securely stored in a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)-compliant database. Clinicians access their patients’ information using a digital dashboard that integrates with the electronic medical record. The reporting system in the platform notifies clinicians of patients who are not making sufficient progress, who are experiencing declines in behavioral health, or who have indicated a potential for self-harm or suicidal ideation. Individualized support and resources are provided to patients accordingly.
NeuroFlow serves health systems, health plans and payors, and government and military populations. NeuroFlow has partnered with the Air Force, the U.S. Naval Academy, and the Stop Soldier Suicide organization to help monitor, support, and treat Service members and veterans.
This program is facilitated by clinicians. Specific information on training was not located. Please use details in the Contact section to learn more.
Considerations for implementing this program include acquiring clinician and patient buy-in; obtaining parental consent for patients under 18 years of age; ensuring all clinicians and patients have access to a smartphone or computer and can download the app; determining if participants have any hearing, vision, or motor impairments that would interfere with use of a smartphone or computer; providing instruction or training for clinicians and patients on use of various platform features; and encouraging active, consistent patient engagement with the app.
The Clearinghouse can help address these considerations. Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email clearinghouse@psu.edu
If you are interested in implementing NeuroFlow, the Clearinghouse is interested in helping you! Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email clearinghouse@psu.edu
Implementation times will vary based on the user’s needs and available time. Clinicians should make sure they check patient data on a regular basis, and patients will benefit from regular, consistent use of the app.
Please use details in the Contact section for information on implementation costs.
To move NeuroFlow to the Effective category on the Clearinghouse Continuum of Evidence, at least two evaluations should be performed that demonstrate sustained, positive outcomes. At least one of these studies must be conducted independently of the program developer.
The Clearinghouse can help you develop an evaluation plan to ensure the program components are meeting your goals. Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email clearinghouse@psu.edu
Contact the Clearinghouse with any questions regarding this program. Phone: 1-877-382-9185 Email: clearinghouse@psu.edu
You may also contact NeuroFlow by visiting https://www.neuroflow.com/contact-us/
Pardes, A., Lynch, W., Miclette, M., McGeoch, E., & Daly, B. P. (2022). Use of a mobile health (mHealth) platform for remote assessment of suicidal ideation, depression, and anxiety: A longitudinal retrospective study. Innovations in Digital Health, Diagnostics, and Biomarkers, 2(2022), 8-15. https://doi.org/10.36401/IDDB-21-03
Pardes, A., Rene, R., Chun, P., & Cherson, M. (2022). Technology-enabled behavioral health integration decreases emergency department utilization. Clinical Practice and Epidemiology in Mental Health, 18(1). https://doi.org/10.2174/17450179-v18-e2208150
Lynch, W., Platt, M. L., & Pardes, A. (2021). Development of a severity score and comparison with validated measures for depression and anxiety: Validation study. JMIR Formative Research, 5(11), e30313.
Puhy, C. E., Litke, S. G., Silverstein, M. J., Kiely, J. R., Pardes, A., McGeoch, E., & Daly, B. P. (2021). Counselor and student perceptions of an mHealth technology platform used in a school counseling setting. Psychology in the Schools, 58(7), 1284-1298. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.22541
