Inside STAT: As patients tell apps they’re feeling suicidal, digital health startups scramble to respond

EROS DERVISHI FOR STAT

Digital health apps, which let patients chat with doctors or receive likely diagnoses from a bot, are increasingly being used as suicide crisis hotlines. Patients are confessing suicidal thoughts using apps designed to help them manage their diabetes or figure out why they might have a headache. Now, many digital health startups are scrambling to figure out answers to questions that even suicide prevention experts don’t have good answers to — things like how best to respond and when to call the police. “To be honest, when we started this, I didn’t think it was as big an issue as it obviously is,” says Daniel Nathrath, CEO of Ada Health. STAT’s Rebecca Robbins has the story here.