Digital Mental Health Tools and AI Therapy Chatbots: A Balanced Approach to Regulation.

Digital mental health tools (DMHTs) offer a potential solution to overcoming economic, cultural, and geographic barriers to the increasing demand for mental health care, but their adoption raises significant ethical, legal, and social concerns. This article identifies ethical risks related to DMHTs...

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Publicado en:Hastings Center Report Vol. 55; no. 3; pp. 15 - 30
Autores principales: Palmer, Amitabha, Schwan, David
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Wiley-Blackwell May/Jun2025
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Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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        atl: Digital Mental Health Tools and AI Therapy Chatbots: A Balanced Approach to Regulation.
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          Palmer, Amitabha
          Schwan, David
      su:
        United States
        United States. Food & Drug Administration
        Mental illness risk factors
        Mental illness treatment
        Mental health services
        Mental health
        Artificial intelligence
        Privacy
        Medical ethics
        Digital technology
        Risk assessment
        Data security
        Digital health
        Certification
        Self medication
        Telemedicine
        Chatbots
        Rules
      sug:
        subj:
          Mental illness risk factors
          Mental illness treatment
          Mental health services
          Mental health
          Artificial intelligence
          Privacy
          Medical ethics
          United States
          United States. Food & Drug Administration
          Offices of Mental Health Practitioners (except Physicians)
          Residential Mental Health and Substance Abuse Facilities
          Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Hospitals
          Other Computer Related Services
          Computer systems design and related services (except video game design and development)
          Digital technology
          Risk assessment
          Data security
          Digital health
          Certification
          Self medication
          Telemedicine
          Chatbots
          Rules
      keyword:
        AI ethics
        AI regulation
        bioethics
        digital mental health
        mental health
        therapeutic chatbots
        AI ethics
        AI regulation
        bioethics
        digital mental health
        mental health
        therapeutic chatbots
      ab: Digital mental health tools (DMHTs) offer a potential solution to overcoming economic, cultural, and geographic barriers to the increasing demand for mental health care, but their adoption raises significant ethical, legal, and social concerns. This article identifies ethical risks related to DMHTs and, in this light, proposes three important criteria for evaluating regulatory approaches. These approaches should (a) ensure widespread access and (b) balance access with risk management while (c) acknowledging preexisting markets and digital self‐medication. Our analysis of three regulatory models—the laissez‐faire approach, a highly regulated approach, and the current U.S. Food and Drug Administration approach—reveals that none satisfactorily balances the promise of access with ethical risks. We therefore suggest modifications to the current FDA approach; these involve a voluntary certification program for nonprescription DMHTs, more‐stringent data safety and privacy practices, easily accessible diagnostic tools, continuous monitoring, and independent audits. These modifications secure the accessibility benefits of DMHTs while mitigating risks associated with widespread use.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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