Digital Health Informatics to Monitor the Quality of Individual Placement and Support Model of Supported Employment Services in Malaysia

There is overwhelming evidence which shows that individual placement and support model of supported employment (IPS-SE) do help in the recovery of mentally ill clients. Presently, IPS-SE implementation is adhoc and nonintegrated in nature. Employment services are segregated. On such developmental trajectory, it will be difficult to sustain quality implementation of IPS-SE. This has motivated the Director of Hospital Permai JB Johor to work with Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) Faculty of Computing to develop a system of digital health informatics via Permai Virtual Hospital Network (DHI-PVHN). Using DHI-PVHN, it will be possible to (a) have a clear and current view of the impact of mental illness on labour force activity, (b) effectively integrate vocational assistance with mental treatment and care, (c) produce accurate financial planning which will make implementation of IPS-SE a sustainable endeavor, and (d) strengthen the intensity and the continuity of individualised help in IPS-SE. This paper describes the DHI-PVHN user centred design pilot project carried out two years ago and describe the criteria used and the theory behind the use of the criteria. The pilot project has indicated that Hospital Permai JB Johor and Hospital Alor Star Kedah have implemented IPS-SE well. Success in the implementation of IPS-SE depends on the relative potential employment opportunity at the locality of the IPS-SE service provider. It also depends on certain management constraints of the IPS-SE service provider.