One year after its launch, the Digital Innovation Hub (DIH) at CAMH has quickly become a catalyst for transforming mental health care through technology. In a recent editorial published in JMIR, the official journal of the Society of Digital Psychiatry, Dr. Gillian Strudwick, Director of the Hub, reflects on the Hub’s mission and the critical infrastructure needed to turn digital mental health innovations from promising pilots into sustainable, impactful tools embedded in routine care.
Bridging Evidence, Experience, and Implementation
“By operating across four integrated streams and providing infrastructure that supports the full innovation journey, the DIH helps overcome the common pitfalls that hinder digital mental health innovations,” writes Dr. Strudwick. “It offers a model for embedding, scaling, and sustaining digital mental health innovation, and it does so by bridging evidence, experience, and implementation.”
She emphasizes that success depends not only on the technology itself but on whether the right infrastructure, support systems, and collaborative relationships are in place to embed that technology into everyday routine care. “Transforming digital mental health care requires investing in the infrastructure for impact. This means prioritizing people, partnerships, and processes as much as we prioritize the digital platforms themselves. It also means committing to and investing in the ‘long game’ that moves beyond pilots and toward meaningful, measurable, and sustained change.”
Highlights from Year One
Over its first year, the DIH has made significant strides across its four streams of work:
- Stream 1: Evidence and Evaluation – Ensuring digital interventions are scientifically evaluated and meet clinical needs.
Initiatives include selecting awardees for the Incubator Fund, and supporting wearable device studies on the early psychosis unit (SLE-EPU). The Hub has also conducted a rapid review on wearables in inpatient psychiatric settings and submitted a grant to develop a wearable data dashboard for clinicians and patients. - Stream 2: Patient Engagement and Digital Literacy – Supporting patients to gain the skills and technology needed to use digital tools.
Achievements include improving CAMH’s public Wi-Fi access and co-adapting the Digital Mental Health Literacy Program (DOORS Canada) for the Collaborative Learning College, empowering people with lived experience to navigate digital devices confidently. - Stream 3: Clinician Competency – Building clinicians’ skills and confidence in using digital mental health tools through education, mentorship, and co-design opportunities.
- Stream 4: Integration into Care – Facilitating seamless adoption of digital technologies in clinical workflows. A major initiative is the Digital Navigators project, exploring dedicated team members who support both clinicians and patients in using patient-facing technologies. This project is being developed in collaboration with Dr. John Torous (Harvard Medical School) and Dr. Julian Schwarz (Brandenburg Medical School, Germany).
Several initiatives cut across multiple streams, reflecting the Hub’s integrated approach. The DIH’s work is rooted in implementation science frameworks, ensuring that digital health innovations are embedded, scalable, and sustainable.
Impact on Care and Research
Beyond technology, the DIH emphasizes co-design and collaboration. For example, the Digital Mental Health Literacy Program addresses digital literacy gaps, a growing social determinant of health. Many clients require support navigating online spaces, accessing virtual care, and managing digital devices. By piloting this program in the Collaborative Learning College (coming in winter 2026) with guidance from people with lived experience, the Hub is equipping clients and clinicians with the skills and confidence needed to use digital tools effectively.
A Vision for the Future
The DIH is more than a hub for technology—it is a model for embedding digital mental health innovation into the fabric of care. By combining evidence, experience, and implementation science, it is building the foundation for meaningful, lasting transformation in mental health care at CAMH and beyond.
