THE IMPORTANCE OF DEVELOPING AN INFORMATICS FRAMEWORK FOR MENTAL-HEALTH

Though mental health services are important in human terms, and accoun t for a tenth of health expenditure, they are not well served in infor matics developments. There are no specific mental health components in the European Union's health telematics programmes, and there is simil ar under-representation in national programmes. Yet telematics has muc h to offer mental health services and their management, and can addres s directly current service anxieties. Telematics concepts which could benefit mental health include integrated, multi-disciplinary records, real-rime multi-site record access, and structured programmes to plan, schedule, and monitor care delivery. The power of information systems to sort data, and to represent them graphically, can sift like data i tems from complex records, and can present them in displays which high light their significance. Above all, quality of care can be enhanced b y monitoring, and by improved outcome measurement. However, a planned programme of research and development is needed, to relate and adjust current health informatics techniques to the special attributes of men tal health. The World Health Organisation has identified the potential of such a programme, but greater vision and commitment is needed at p olicy level if mental health services and patients are to receive the benefits from health informatics which are available to the physically ill. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.