Mobile Apps and Other Technologies May Make It Easier to Track Mood Symptoms Longitudinally
Multiple investigative groups at the 9th International Conference on Bipolar Disorder (ICBD) held in Pittsburgh in 2011 reported on the use of mobile phones or other automated processes to provide a more detailed ongoing record of a patient’s mood fluctuations and response to treatment. A particularly notable study by Nolen and colleagues described an electronic version of the life chart method (e-LCM) that would be accessible via internet, and which could be integrated with the patient’s file and used for research. These investigators developed software for a patient version and a clinician version. The web-based version is not yet available for patient use.
Editor’s Note: Until this and other useful electronic monitoring procedures become available, we recommend using the written version of a life chart to provide daily assessments of mood, side effects, and comorbid symptoms in order to provide a detailed numerical and graphic record with which to judge treatment response. This method is extremely valuable in developing new treatment approaches for those with treatment-resistant illness, and if patients keep these records, physicians will have optimal and detailed input in order to assess response and make treatment recommendations.
Sample Mood Chart
My Mood Monitor provides another available approach. This system was developed primarily as a screening instrument, but also includes a longitudinal monitoring component. It is not designed for daily monitoring, but can be used repeatedly with a minimal interval of one week between ratings.
We’ve written before about depressioncheck, My Mood Monitor’s iPhone app that can quickly screen for mood and anxiety disorders.
Screening Tool for Depression and Anxiety Available via iPhone
My Mood Monitor, a website for mental health screening, has introduced depressioncheck, a free, mobile version of their M-3 Checklist, a scientifically validated screening tool for mood and anxiety disorders that can now be used via Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch. It can be found in the Itunes App Store.
Adapted from the online version, the mobile version provides a short series of questions that measure indicators of mental health. Developed by a team of mental health practitioners and experts, the checklist takes only three minutes to complete. It is ideal to fill out in the waiting room prior to an appointment with a general practitioner so the doctor can be made aware of potential problems in the area of mental health. Depressioncheck is appropriate for those 18 years and older and its accuracy was confirmed in an article published in the Annals of Family Medicine in March 2010.
We recommend My Mood Monitor and the new mobile application as simple and reliable screening tools that can assess the presence of unipolar and bipolar mood and anxiety disorders, including obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, and PTSD. Read more
