California is partnering with Silicon Valley to work on smartphone apps that can help in the early stages of a mental health crisis, the New York Times reports.
The big picture: While mental health apps have flooded the market, there's been little research as to whether they work. California's partnership is aiming to fill that hole.
What's happening: State and county mental health officials have been meeting with two tech companies in California to test apps for people who receive care from the state's mental health system.
Yes, but: "At least for now, California's effort to jump-start medicine's digital future is running into some of the same issues that have dogged old-fashioned drug trials: recruiting problems, questions about informed consent, and the reality that, no matter the treatment, some people won’t 'tolerate' it well, and quit," NYT writes.
Go deeper: AI is helping researchers understand mental illness
