TY  - JOUR
AU  - Epperson, C Neill
AU  - Davis, Rachel
AU  - Dempsey, Allison
AU  - Haller, Heinrich C
AU  - Kupfer, David J
AU  - Love, Tiffany
AU  - Villarreal, Pamela M
AU  - Matthews, Mark
AU  - Moore, Susan L
AU  - Muller, Kimberly
AU  - Schneck, Christopher D
AU  - Scott, Jessica L
AU  - Zane, Richard D
AU  - Frank, Ellen
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/1/7
TI  - The Trifecta of Industry, Academic, and Health System Partnership to Improve Mental Health Care Through Smartphone-Based Remote Patient Monitoring: Development and Usability Study
JO  - JMIR Form Res
SP  - e57624
VL  - 9
KW  - digital health
KW  - mobile intervention
KW  - telepsychiatry
KW  - artificial intelligence
KW  - psychiatry
KW  - mental health
KW  - depression
KW  - mood
KW  - bipolar
KW  - monitor
KW  - diagnostic tool
KW  - diagnosis
KW  - electronic health record
KW  - EHR
KW  - alert
KW  - notification
KW  - prediction
KW  - mHealth
KW  - mobile health
KW  - smartphone
KW  - passive
KW  - self-reported
KW  - patient generated
AB  - Background: Mental health treatment is hindered by the limited number of mental health care providers and the infrequency of care. Digital mental health technology can help supplement treatment by remotely monitoring patient symptoms and predicting mental health crises in between clinical visits. However, the feasibility of digital mental health technologies has not yet been sufficiently explored. Rhythms, from the company Health Rhythms, is a smartphone platform that uses passively acquired smartphone data with artificial intelligence and predictive analytics to alert patients and providers to an emerging mental health crisis. Objective: The objective of this study was to test the feasibility and acceptability of Rhythms among patients attending an academic psychiatric outpatient clinic. Methods: Our group embedded Rhythms into the electronic health record of a large health system. Patients with a diagnosis of major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, or other mood disorder were contacted online and enrolled for a 6-week trial of Rhythms. Participants provided data by completing electronic surveys as well as by active and passive use of Rhythms. Emergent and urgent alerts were monitored and managed according to passively collected data and patient self-ratings. A purposively sampled group of participants also participated in qualitative interviews about their experience with Rhythms at the end of the study. Results: Of the 104 participants, 89 (85.6%) completed 6 weeks of monitoring. The majority of the participants were women (72/104, 69.2%), White (84/104, 80.8%), and non-Hispanic (100/104, 96.2%) and had a diagnosis of major depressive disorder (71/104, 68.3%). Two emergent alerts and 19 urgent alerts were received and managed according to protocol over 16 weeks. More than two-thirds (63/87, 72%) of those participating continued to use Rhythms after study completion. Comments from participants indicated appreciation for greater self-awareness and provider connection, while providers reported that Rhythms provided a more nuanced understanding of patient experience between clinical visits. Conclusions: Rhythms is a user-friendly, electronic health record–adaptable, smartphone-based tool that provides patients and providers with a greater understanding of patient mental health status. Integration of Rhythms into health systems has the potential to facilitate mental health care and improve the experience of both patients and providers. 
SN  - 2561-326X
UR  - https://formative.jmir.org/2025/1/e57624
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2196/57624
DO  - 10.2196/57624
ID  - info:doi/10.2196/57624
ER  -