Fisher Carl E, Appelbaum Paul S
From the Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.
Harv Rev Psychiatry. 2017 Jul/Aug;25(4):170-179. doi: 10.1097/HRP.0000000000000145.
Electronic communications are an increasingly important part of people's lives, and much information is accessible through such means. Anecdotal clinical reports indicate that mental health professionals are beginning to use information from their patients' electronic activities in treatment and that their data-gathering practices have gone far beyond simply searching for patients online. Both academic and private sector researchers are developing mental health applications to collect patient information for clinical purposes. Professional societies and commentators have provided minimal guidance, however, about best practices for obtaining or using information from electronic communications or other online activities. This article reviews the clinical and ethical issues regarding use of patients' electronic activities, primarily focusing on situations in which patients share information with clinicians voluntarily. We discuss the potential uses of mental health patients' electronic footprints for therapeutic purposes, and consider both the potential benefits and the drawbacks and risks. Whether clinicians decide to use such information in treating any particular patient-and if so, the nature and scope of its use-requires case-by-case analysis. But it is reasonable to assume that clinicians, depending on their circumstances and goals, will encounter circumstances in which patients' electronic activities will be relevant to, and useful in, treatment.
电子通信在人们的生活中日益重要，许多信息都可通过此类方式获取。轶事性临床报告表明，心理健康专业人员开始在治疗中使用患者电子活动中的信息，且他们的数据收集做法已远远超出简单地在网上搜索患者。学术研究人员和私营部门研究人员都在开发心理健康应用程序，以收集用于临床目的的患者信息。然而，专业协会和评论员对于从电子通信或其他在线活动中获取或使用信息的最佳做法提供的指导极少。本文回顾了有关使用患者电子活动的临床和伦理问题，主要关注患者自愿与临床医生分享信息的情况。我们讨论了心理健康患者电子足迹在治疗目的方面的潜在用途，并考虑了潜在益处以及缺点和风险。临床医生是否决定在治疗任何特定患者时使用此类信息，以及如果使用，其使用的性质和范围，都需要逐案分析。但可以合理地假设，临床医生根据自身情况和目标，会遇到患者电子活动与治疗相关且有用的情况。
