Shrinks Shrink Distances With Broadband-Based Tele-Mental Health

While most people associate telemedicine with remote patient monitoring, videoconferencing, and health records, there is an exciting new use for broadband-based health care called "tele-mental health." A post on broadbandexpanded.com, a project of New York Law School, revealed that a number of projects using telepsychiatry and telepsychology are underway throughout North America.

For instance, Internal Medicine News wrote that South Carolina, with a scattered rural population, has enhanced mental health care for patients who arrive at a remote emergency room.

When telepsychiatry is called for, a video cart is rolled into the patient's room. At the other end of the feed is a psychiatrist in Charleston, Columbia, Aiken, or Greenville, S.C.

The patient and psychiatrist are able to see one another and talk over the link. The psychiatrist does the assessment over about 30 minutes, prepped beforehand with the patient's history, lab results, and other findings.

Tele-mental health fills a vital need, according to an article posted by the American Psychological Association. "By insisting that patients come to our offices, we're excluding potentially millions of patients who need care," says Carolyn Turvey, PhD, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Iowa and vice chair of the American Telemedicine Association's Telemental Health special interest group.

And the telepsychiatry program at the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto manages to cover the vast distances of the country's far north.

"It makes a huge difference for people in remote areas to get access to an experienced child psychiatrist," says Chamberlain who used to fly into Big Trout Lake in northern Ontario twice a year to assist with difficult cases. "Now I can be available to help there in about 15 minutes."

While the quality of such care depends on the skills and dedication of the practitioners, it's also dependent on the capacity of Internet connections. High definition video allows psychologists and psychiatrists to assess not only the conversations, but also non-verbal cues such as eye movement and subtle body language. The potential for tele-mental health is huge, but is only beginning to be utilized.

The Rise of Broadband Based Mental Health Solutions (Broadband Expanded)

ED Telepyschiatry Cuts Admissions, Saves Money at School Carolina Hospitals (Internal Medicine News)>

A new emphasis on telehealth (American Psychological Association)

Telepsychiatry: Getting help to kids where they live (CBC News)