Government invests $1.8M in tracking device for mentally ill

The Australian Federal Government will invest almost $50 million in strengthening mental health services - $1.8 million of which will be spent on a mobile tracking systems.

According to Labor, the Black Dog Institute will receive $1.8 million for a mobile tracker system to help people better manage their mental health and wellbeing.

The Black Dog Institute is an Australian-based educational, research, clinical and community-oriented facility dedicated to improving the understanding, diagnosis and treatment of mood disorders.

The system being designed by the Institute uses the Internet and mobile phones to help people track their wellbeing in areas including mood, appetite, sleep, medication, physical activity, and drug and alcohol use.

Information is fed back to the users on how they are handling situations, and alerts are sent when things aren’t going well, along with links to appropriate self-help tools.

For example, if a user reports that they have been feeling anxious and not sleeping well, they would receive an alert pointing to tools for managing anxiety as well as tips to help with sleeping. The alert may also recommend discussing the issues with a medical professional. The system will also allow people to print off reports so they can take them to their clinicians.

According to Australian reseller Paul Delaney, general manager of tracking and security technology reseller, Affinity-One, believes that tracking devices will be embraced as ‘every-day’ accessories like mobile phones and personal computers within five years.

“Personal tracking devices can cost around $500. Resellers are typically looking to achieve around 20-35 percent as a margin. There is also ongoing revenue to be earned on higher-end products, which require servicing,” he said.