Mental Health Advocacy

Karnataka Mental Health Care Management System (KMHMS)/(e-Manas)

The KMHMS or e-Manas online portal is conceptualized and developed to help manage, monitor, and implement the provisions contained in the Mental Healthcare Act. People with mental illness, their caregivers, Mental Health Establishments, Mental Health Professionals, and regulatory bodies like Karnataka State Mental Health Authority and District Mental Health Review Boards are brought together under a single online web-based solution to provide integrated and seamless mental health care service delivery. Inputs about medical and legal requirements as prescribed in MHCA 2017 and continuous assistance to website development was provided by the team from NIMHANS, Bengaluru. Technical aspects, development, and testing of the web application were undertaken by the team from E-Health Research Centre, International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT-B) Bengaluru. Portals were developed for registering MHEs and MHPs, for documenting patient care, for patients to upload valid Advance Directives (AD) and raise grievances against specific MHE/MHP, for authorities to approve the registrations and regulate the service delivery according to the legislation. The portal is also integrated with Ayushman Bharat-Arogya Karnataka (AB-ARK) Database, Arogya Sahayavani, and emergency ambulance services. The website has been launched and handed over to the government of Karnataka on July 2020.

Telemedicine Practice Guidelines 2020

The Indian Government has published Telemedicine Practice Guidelines on March 25, 2020. These guidelines clarify India’s position on tele-consultation and is legal to provide tele-services by registered medical practitioners in line with the requirements of the Telemedicine Guidelines. The notification of the Telemedicine Practice Guidelines marks the dawn of a new era in the practice of medicine. This also triggered the complementary alternative systems, releasing their Telemedicine Practice Guidelines for AYUSH (Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha) practitioners on 7 April 2020 by the Central Council of Indian Medicine. On similar lines, a telemedicine practice guideline was released on 10 April 2020 by the Central Council of Homeopathy, enabling registered homoeopathic practitioners to continue with their practice. In this regard, it is encouraging that the Government of India has been very progressive in introducing information technology not only for modern medicine, but also for the alternative systems of medicine so that the patient has various options to choose from for their health needs, and a comprehensive effort is made to reach the unreached.

Telepsychiatry Operational Guidelines 2020

NIMHANS Telenursing Practice Guidelines 2020

NIMHANS nursing professionals in association with Telemedicine Society of India and Trained Nurses Association of India drafted NIMHANS Telenursing Practice Guidelines 2020 for providing nursing services using technology to reach the unreached. The purpose of this tele-nursing document is to provide general guidelines to registered nurses about the use of telehealth technology as a part of day-to-day nursing practice. These guidelines help registered nurses in identifying their roles and responsibilities to provide safe, compassionate, competent and ethical care. These telenursing guidelines were developed based on the code of ethics and professional conduct for nurses in India. These guidelines also help the nurses on how to collaborate with specialist doctors, professional colleagues and other healthcare team members in offering the best possible care in a timely manner to patients.

NIMHANS Tele-Psychotherapy Practice Guidelines 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the disruption of continued psychological services to our clients and has come as a barrier for persons seeking to engage with professional psychotherapy services. In this context, the Department of Clinical Psychology at NIMHANS, has taken the initiative to formulate Guidelines for Tele-psychotherapy Services. These guidelines aim to standardise competent and ethical tele-psychotherapy services in our country to benefit clients in need, while safeguarding their interests. These guidelines have been developed in response to the emergent needs of access and continuity of psychotherapy services during the pandemic. This guideline was formulated after referring to a range of national and international practice guidelines for telepsychology and telepsychiatry. The contextual realities of the practice of psychotherapy in India have been considered in the preparation of these guidelines. This guideline gave ethical and legal framework to provide counselling services across the country.

NIMHANS Tele Psychiatric Social Work Practice Guidelines 2020

The Department of Psychiatric Social Work (PSW) is an integral part of the multidisciplinary team at NIMHANS and has been instrumental in providing PSW services. The use of technological tools in PSW practice may be offered as a remote service, or in conjunction with in-person PSW services. These guidelines are developed in response to the emergent needs of access and continuity of PSW services during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the guidelines are not restricted to any particular time period and aims to assist PSWs, who are working in mental health settings. The standards and their interpretations are intended to set a minimum score of excellence for professional practice when PSWs use technology, and to provide a framework to address possible benefits, challenges and risks that arise when using these tools in the practice of tele-PSW services across the country.

Advisory on Tele-Yoga Services

Yoga is successfully applied in various psychiatric disorders and also in maintaining positive mental health/well-being over the globe. Department of Integrative Medicine at NIMHANS, Bengaluru is the first and one-of-its-kind department in the country which integrates traditional Indian knowledge from Ayurveda and Yoga, with modern medical science in providing clinical services, academic training and research activities with special focus on mental health and neurosciences. It provides tele-yoga services to persons with mental illness, caregivers and for healthcare workers to reduce stress and inculcate positive well-being. This service was extensively utilized during the COVID 19 pandemic. Based on this vast experience, the Department along with the Telemedicine Centre, NIMHANS and Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana (S-VYASA), Bengaluru conceptualised, drafted and released the Tele-Yoga Advisory 2020 in collaboration with the Central Council for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy (CCRYN), Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India, New Delhi.