Earlier this year the eMental Health International Collaborative released the Ethics and Law in eMental Health Position Statement and Call to Action. The Position Statement was produced by Richman Wee (University of Waikato, New Zealand) and Dr Piers Gooding (University of Melbourne, Australia, who are the co-chairs of the eMHIC Special Interest Group on Law and Ethics. eMHIC Special Interest groups are structured to foster international relationships between industry specialists, leading to tangible results and products to create change in eMental Health.
The inaugural Position Statement is the first of its kind, acting as a lighthouse for future work in the complex and constantly evolving ethical and legal landscape of eMental health.
Recently Dr Smriti Joshi, Chief Psychologist at Wysa in New Delhi, India has joined the eMHIC Law and Ethics Special Interest group and will be contributing to the second iteration of the Position Statement. Dr Joshi brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the team, including a particular focus on clinical implementation, contributing an essential industry perspective.
Dr Joshi has expressed her enthusiasm to bring the document to an implementable level:
“This is an incredible opportunity to help shape the Position Statement and ensure it is something that not only guides higher-level strategy and policy in this space, but that also help organisations and startups, mental health service providers and service users make real-time decisions guided by a strong ethical and legal code. The idea will be to bridge any gaps in translating existing guidelines into actionable steps.”
eMHIC is proud to be connecting such well-respected experts from around the world to host truly global collaboration in eMental Health. Also joining the Law and Ethics Special Interest Group is Ikenna Ebuenyi, currently working from University College in Dublin. Ebuenyi has described a particular interest in equitable access to digital mental solutions across all socioeconomic levels.
The second iteration of the Position Statement is due to be published early next year, with an update expected at the 2022 eMental Health International Congress.
