This post has been updated from an earlier version.
Thomas Insel joined what is now known as Verily less than two years ago from the National Institute of Mental Health to head up an initiative to develop new technology to combat anxiety and depression. The hire was regarded as a coup for the life science arm of Alphabet, Google’s parent company. But now he is leaving, which Verily confirmed in a blog post.
When Investment Rhymes with Canada
Canada has a proud history of achievement in the areas of science and technology, and the field of biomanufacturing and life sciences is no exception.
Insel will be joining Mindstrong Health, a Sunnyvale, California-based startup, as cofounder and president. BuzzFeed broke the news and MedCity confirmed it with Mindstrong.
In an interview with MedCity News in 2015 in the run up to working for Verily, Insel called for a paradigm shift in mental health.
“If we want to see an impact on morbidity and mortality for mental health, we have to do it in a different way. And that could be through digital technology.”
The company credited Insel with building a team of mental health clinical researchers, data scientists, product designers, and software engineers.
Using Informed Awareness to Transform Care Coordination and Improve the Clinical and Patient Experience
This eBook, in collaboration with Care Logistics, details how hospitals and health systems can facilitate more effective decision-making by operationalizing elevated awareness.
Verily told CNBC that although its work in the mental health arena will continue, it’s too soon to say whether his role will be replaced.
In the interview, Insel’s enthusiasm for the potential of digital health technology for behavioral health was tempered with privacy concerns.
When you think about Google and data, people begin to wonder – is my search information going to be used as a mental health biomarker? Or to make a diagnosis? I don’t think that’s ever likely going to happen.
What’s more likely is that providers, or a third party entity, will use the metadata of people in treatment. But it’ll always be through some sort of informed consent which you could pull back at any moment. Privacy is a huge issue here, in mental healthcare.
Remember, right now – everything you do now is being collected by someone online. But they’re using it to sell you shoes and clothes. It’s being used for marketing, but not to manage your own health.
I think this is a really important conversation people will have: Are we going to get to a point where we would use your online information to let others know when you’re suicidal? Or homicidal? Or severely depressed and need emergency care?
It’s a tough area, and I don’t know where we’ll end up there.
Just last month, Verily launched Project Baseline, an ambitious four-year study seeking to recruit 10,000 participants with the goal of developing a 21st century approach to personalized healthcare. As part of the project, participants were expected to take a battery of tests such as a chest X-ray, electrocardiogram, and psychological assessment. They would also have their sleep, heart rate, sweat, and steps measured over the course of the study. Health records, telephone, and social media activity may also be measured.
Photo: Erhui1979, Getty Images
