News

Philadelphia kiosk pilot assesses mental health

August 4, 2014

Philadelphia's Shoprite became the launch site for a new mental health kiosk piloted by the Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disability Services, Scattergood Behavioral Health Foundation and Family Practice and Counseling Network.

The kiosk, placed next to the shop's blood pressure screening kiosk, runs on tablet technology that prompts users to answer survey questions about their mental well-being, according to the mobihealthnews.comarticle. The pilot runs for six months and if successful, more kiosks will be installed in Shoprite locations around the city, Department of Behavioral Health Assistant Director of Communications Kimberly Rymsha said in the article.

"What happens when you go into the kiosk is it will say, 'Are you interested in taking a behavioral health assessment?' and it'll remind you that this is not a diagnosis, it's not an intended substitute for professional advice, diagnosis and treatment," said Samantha Matlan, department of behavioral health special advisor to the commissioner for policy development and research, in the article. "But it's really a way to take an initial step to see if you may be experiencing symptoms consistent with behavioral health diagnoses."

The machine prompts users to select a mental condition for which they would like to answer questions about, "including depression, alcohol abuse, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, anxiety disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder," the article said. It also collects demographic information and offers resources to the public.

Matlan hopes the self-service mental health project will serve as a guide to other cities reaching out to the public with kiosk screenings.