Vignette 3

behavioural monitoring in high risk mental health situations

Jack and Charli co-founded a digital mental health company in order to tackle an issue close to their hearts. They wanted to understand why suicidal risks among psychiatric patients appears to be especially high soon after hospitalisation and so their company collected a lot of data once a patient had been released, for example, real-time location data. Their goal was to help evaluate and respond to the risk of suicide and suicide attempts following psychiatric hospitalisation in real-time. Their company’s ambition to improve the monitoring of patients discharged from psychiatric hospitalisation required them to work with many different organisations and to allow third parties to access different kinds of data (e.g., police as first responders).

What are the potential risks when multiple stakeholders have access to such sensitive data during such a potentially sensitive time for someone who is vulnerable? Is it safe to track someone in real-time in this context even if consent is given? What types of data tracking might be more risky than other types?

Background reference: Suicidal Risk Following Hospital Discharge: A Review. Authors: Forte, Alberto MD; Buscajoni, Andrea MD; Fiorillo, Andrea MD, PhD; Pompili, Maurizio MD, PhD; Baldessarini, Ross J. MD. Harvard Review of Psychiatry: 7/8 2019 - Volume 27 - Issue 4 - p 209-216