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Digital enabled therapies for depression and anxiety disorders that have the potential to help more than 40,000 people have been conditionally recommended by NICE.
There is currently high demand for NHS talking therapies with some people currently waiting up to six weeks to access help. Therefore, it is hoped that digital therapies may offer welcome additional help for people with a diagnosis of anxiety or depression.
The eight technologies were conditionally recommended for body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), generalised anxiety symptoms or unspecified anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), social anxiety disorder, and depression.
These digitally enabled therapies, some of which are already in use, are conditionally recommended for use following a formal assessment with an NHS Talking Therapies therapist, as they may not be the right choice for everyone.
One in six people report experiencing a common mental health problem such as anxiety and depression in any given week in England, according to NHS Digital
New treatment options for anxiety and depression
Mark Chapman, interim director of medical technology and digital evaluation, at NICE, said: “Our rapid assessment of these eight technologies has shown they have promise. Developed using tried and tested CBT methods, each one has demonstrated it has the potential to provide effective treatment to the many thousands of people who live with these conditions.
“We want these new treatment options to be available for people to use as quickly as possible and we also want to make sure they are clinically effective and represent good value for the NHS. The additional evidence collected during this period will help us do that.
“We also want to hear what people involved in this area think – both clinicians and the people who will be using these digital technologies. We know CBT can work well for many people and we know that digitally enabled technology can help the NHS get support to people faster.”
The eight technologies are the 6th and 7th early value assessments to have been undertaken using a new NICE rapid assessment process that seeks to identify promising medical technology for rapid deployment into the NHS.
The medical technology advisory committee heard from clinical and patient experts as part of their consideration of the evidence for the eight technologies. The evidence included the positive impact of CBT on these conditions and how these technologies can improve access.
Professor Stephen Pilling, specialist committee member and head of the clinical, educational and health psychology department at University College London, said: “I am pleased to welcome the committee’s recommendation on the digital therapies for adults with an anxiety disorder or depression. These interventions can make a major contribution to increasing access to and choice of evidence-based psychological interventions as set out in NICE guidelines.
“Their implementation in the NHS Talking Therapies for Anxiety and Depression service, with its excellent routine outcome monitoring programme, means that it will be possible to further assess their benefits in routine practice before their clinical and cost effectiveness can be fully evaluated by NICE using this real-world evidence collected by the NHS.”
The technologies must achieve regulatory approval prior to their NHS use. This will include Digital Technology Assessment Criteria (DTAC) conformity approval from NHS England, CE or UKCA marking and compliance with the NHS Talking Therapies digitally enabled therapies (DET) assessment criteria
A consultation has now begun on both sets of recommendations. Comments can be submitted via nice.org.uk until Wednesday 15 March 2023.