Digital Mental Health Standards Updates

The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (the Commission) has released a series of new resources and updates corresponding to the National Safety and Quality Digital Mental Health Standards (Digital Mental Health Standards). These updates are designed to make assessment processes more efficient, support service providers to better meet accreditation requirements, and strengthen safety and security of digital mental health care.

Streamlined assessment with new modules

To reduce duplication and simplify compliance, the Commission has developed a series of Digital Mental Health Modules. These modules map overlapping content between the Digital Mental Health Standards and other national standards, identifying only the unique actions required.

This will allow organisations to complete a single, streamlined assessment process to meet the Digital Mental Health Standards in conjunction with the National Safety & Quality Mental Health Standards for Community Managed Organisations (NSQMHCMO Standards) and/or  National Safety and Quality Primary and Community Healthcare Standards (Primary and Community Healthcare Standards).

The available modules are as follows:

• Community Managed Organisations (CMO)
  • Digital Mental Health Module for Community Managed Organisations: Actions reduced from 59 to 13
• Primary and Community Healthcare Providers
  • Digital Mental Health Module for Primary Care: Actions reduced from 59 to 16

The Digital Mental Health Standards self-assessment tool has also been updated to support organisations using these modules.

Visit the Commission’s website to access the modules here.

Updated resources for choosing a digital mental health service

The Commission has refreshed its guidance to support both consumers and health professionals in selecting safe and effective digital mental health services:

• For service users: A new worksheet to help identify quality digital mental health services
• For clinicians and peer workers: Practical tips on what to look for when recommending digital mental health services

Both resources highlight the importance of choosing a provider that is accredited against the Digital Mental Health Standards, ensuring key safety and quality requirements are met.

Explore the updates and resources here.

Requirements for accredited services

Following award of accreditation, digital mental health services must continue to meet the Commission’s requirements under the Australian Health Service Safety and Quality Accreditation Scheme (AHSSQA Scheme). The current Advisories are in effect and are a requirement in maintaining accreditation:

• Advisory D25/01 – Not applicable for the Digital Mental Health Standards
• Advisory D25/02 – Notification of significant risk
• Advisory D25/03 – Assessment requirements of service providers post significant clinical or technical governance review
• Advisory D25/04 – Transitioning between accrediting agencies
• Advisory D23/01 – Sampling for assessments

View the full list of advisories here.

Cybersecurity guidance for service providers

To address the risks associated with cybersecurity, the Commission has developed a new fact sheet titled ‘Assessing cybersecurity with the Digital Mental Health Standards’. This fact sheet has been created to support providers in a adopting risk-based approach to inform security. This includes considerations across clinical and technical governance, workforce capability, and integration of technical expertise.

View the cybersecurity fact sheet here.

Remember to subscribe to receive the Commission’s updates

To keep across updates as soon as they occur, the Commission provides its own eNewsletter featuring recent highlights from the Commission’s work, as well as newly-released resources. We highly recommend subscribing if you’re yet to do so to ensure you never miss an important announcement. To subscribe, simply fill out the “Subscribe to our eNews and updates” form on the website, and select the contents relevant to your service.