Using the Monsenso digital self-monitoring tool for borderline treatment
The Monsenso digital self-monitoring tool was tested in a pilot study by individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder in a Public-Private Innovation Partnership between The Zealand Healthcare Region and Monsenso.
The Zealand Healthcare Region, which provides medical services to more than 820,000 citizens, was looking for a smartphone-based application to replace the existing paper-based self-assessments and clinical questionnaires. The application was used in a pilot study to support the treatment of 30 patients with Borderline Personality Disorder receiving Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) and it ran from January 2016 to January 2017.
Objectives
The main goals of the pilot study were to identify and track the triggers and early warning signs of individuals with BPD using the digital self-monitoring tool, and to evaluate the project from a Mini Medical Technology Assessment (MTV) perspective, in relation to performance, future impact on patient outcomes and financial implications.
Challenges
- To provide patients and healthcare providers with an effective digital self-monitoring tool that is able to identify and track triggers and early warning signs
- To optimise the treatment of BPD and to reinforce the recovery process by improving patients’ access to information about their illness
- To configure, further develop, and install the Monsenso digital self-monitoring tool so that it can be tested in day-to-day operations in the psychiatry unit in Region Zealand
The Monsenso digital self-monitoring tool
The Monsenso mHealth solution is configured to meet the needs and track the symptoms of patients with borderline. It is based on a double-loop treatment model that connects patients and healthcare providers. The Monsenso digital self-monitoring tool gives patients the opportunity to enter and visualise self-reported data and early warning signs. At the same time, the system provides healthcare providers with access to prognosis, statistics, pattern analysis, risk, and tracking of early warning signs. The solution consists of a smartphone application for patients, and a web portal for healthcare providers. The web portal allows care providers to access all the data collected by the patients’ smartphones, and facilitates data analysis. Each clinic has access to an overview of the patients for whom they are responsible. This allows healthcare providers to monitor patients closely in order to quickly identify when the patients’ conditions are changing and document the process patients go through during their treatment.
Results
Since the 30 patients rapidly embraced the app, when the pilot was completed, they had no wish to return to the paper-based self-assessments. Therefore, The Zealand Healthcare Region chose to extend the agreement with Monsenso for an additional year, even though the project had not been fully evaluated.
The final evaluation, which will be conducted by the Psychiatric Unit of Research of Region Zealand in Slagelse and the Consolidated Unit of Production, Research and Innovation is set to be concluded in early 2017.
The final evaluation includes a round of interviews with patients and staff, who have been testing the Monsenso solution.
Click here to watch a video displaying patient testimonials.
Click on the links below to learn more about Monsenso’s usage in the treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder: