Introduction to Evidence-Based Digital Interventions and Informatics Approaches to Service Delivery for Behavioral Health Populations

Technology use is ubiquitous in the digital age, and to ensure quality care, patients, more research, and evaluation are needed of digital interventions and informatics approaches for behavioral health disorders—particularly those that have population-level impact. Clinicians, teams, organizations, and countries have to prioritize and implement systems to organize clinical care and set the stage for evidence-based interventions. Much of this is through electronic health records (EHRs), patient portals, artificial intelligence (AI), and data analytic approaches for workflow (e.g., clinical decision support). The Special Edition is geared to help clinicians/faculty, trainees, and healthcare leaders improve clinical care, by showcasing new systems, technologies, research, and evidence- and consensus-based best practices. One overarching goal is to apply the most recent health technology and evidence to promote behavioral health and to predict, assess, triage, and treat behavioral health disorders. Another goal is to describe how to shift from in-person/video care visits to longitudinal, in time care with patient and clinician decision support facilitated by artificial intelligence and other technologies. The issue focuses on effectiveness and implementation science approaches for patients across populations and settings. Evaluation of intended and unintended consequences of new technologies could facilitate or impede workflow and outcomes.