Telehealth Resources

Randomized clinical trial of telepsychiatry through video conference versus face-to-face conventional psychiatric treatment.
The study evaluated the efficacy of telepsychiatry through video-conferencing in comparison to face-to-face conventional (F2FC) treatment. The study demonstrated that the video-conference telepsychiatry treatment was as effective as F2FC psychiatric treatment, and can be a significant channel for providing mental health services to psychiatric patients residing in underserved and rural communities with limited mental health resources.

Published in Telemedicine Journal and e-Health in June 2006. Authors: De Las Cuevas C, Arredondo MT, Cabrera MF, Sulzenbacher H, and Meise U.

Telepsychiatry: Video-conferencing in the Delivery of Psychiatric Care
The provision of psychiatric treatment via live interactive videoconferencing, frequently termed telepsychiatry, is a viable option for psychiatrists to provide care to individual patients, populations, and communities faced with limited access and to move the point of care delivery into patients’ living environments. This article provides an overview of the current evidence base in telepsychiatry and reviews administrative and clinical issues in videoconferencing-based treatment.

Published by The American Journal of Psychiatry in March 2013.  Author: Jay H. Shore, M.D., M.P.H.

The effectiveness of telemental health: a 2013 review.
The authors reviewed current literature on telemental health and found that telemental health is effective for diagnosis and assessment across many populations (adult, child, geriatric, and ethnic) and for disorders in many settings (emergency, home health) and appears to be comparable to in-person care.  Authors conclude that telemental health is effective and increases access to care.

Published by the Telemedicine Journal and e-Health in June 2013.  Authors: Donald M. Hilty, Daphne C. Ferrer, Michelle Burke Parish, Barb Johnston, Edward J. Callahan, and Peter M. Yellowlees.

Child and Adolescent Telepsychiatry: Utilization And Satisfaction
Researchers found that telepsychiatry offered through a regional children’s hospital was well utilized and parents were highly satisfied with their children’s care, with an indication of increasing satisfaction upon return appointments.

Published by the Telemedicine Journal and e-Health in March 2008.  Authors: Kathleen M. Myers, M.D., M.P.H., Jeanette M. Valentine, Ph.D., Sanford M. Melzer, M.D., M.B.A.

Care Coordination/Home Telehealth: the systematic implementation of health informatics, home telehealth, and disease management to support the care of veteran patients with chronic conditions.
Telehealth initiatives have demonstrated 25% reduction in bed days, 19% reduction in hospital re-admissions and 56% total utilization reduction for depression.

Published by the Telemedicine Journal and e-Health in December 2008.  Authors: Darkins A, Ryan P, Kobb R, Foster L, Edmonson E, Wakefield B, Lancaster AE.

Outcomes of 98,609 U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs patients enrolled in telemental health services, 2006-2010.
This four-year study assessed clinical outcomes of 98,609 mental health patients before and after enrollment in telemental health services of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs between 2006 and 2010.  Authors found that after initiation of such services, patients’ hospitalization utilization decreased by an average of approximately 25%.

Published by the Telemedicine Journal and e-Health in April 2012.  Authors: Godleski L, Darkins A, and Peters J.

Rural Mental Health: Implications for Telepsychiatry in Clinical Service, Workforce Development, and Organizational Capacity
“Benefits of telepsychiatry include diagnostic accuracy and service satisfaction, which have been found to be comparable between in-person and telepsychiatry assessment…Patients also prefer telepsychiatry over waiting a longer period of time to see a specialist or traveling a significant distance for an appointment. Moreover, telepsychiatry can reduce absenteeism (work, school), enhance sense of patient choice and control, and spare patients from long, expensive, and life-disrupting journeys.”

Published by the Telemedicine Journal and e-Health in April 2012.  Authors: Jane Chung-Do, Susana Helm, Michael Fukuda, Dan Alicata, Stephanie Nishimura, and Iwalani Else.

Use of Telepsychiatry to Improve Care for People With Mental Illness in Rural North Carolina
Telehealth improves access to medical services, especially for people living in rural areas. In North Carolina, the advantages of telepsychiatry also go beyond improving access. This article describes a diverse program of telehealth and telepsychiatric service delivery and discusses its advantages and disadvantages.

Published by the North Carolina Medical Journal in May/June 2011.  Authors: Saeed SA, Diamond J, and Bloch RM.

Using telemedicine to avoid transfer of rural emergency department patients.
Telemedicine technologies have the potential of providing earlier diagnosis and intervention, of saving lives and of avoiding unnecessary transfers from rural hospital emergency departments to urban hospitals. This evaluation study demonstrates the potential value of telemedicine use in rural emergency departments to patients, rural hospitals and rural communities.

Published by the Journal of Rural Health in 2001.  Authors: Hicks LL, Boles KE, Hudson ST, Madsen RW, Kling B, Tracy J, Mitchell JA, and Webb W.