Telemedicine Applications

There are many ways in which telemedicine has been a success. One of these is Health services. Health services includes a variety of specialties. Health services allow doctors to interact remotely with patients and other specialists. For example, doctors can monitor vital signs, labs, and patient care in multiple ICU's simultaneously.      Within Health services you can find many specialties, including telepsychiatry. Telemedicine can be used to link the patient and the clinician over a "real time" video connection. According to Hyler, et.al., "Out of a large telepsychiatry literature published over the past 40+ years, only a handful of studies have attempted to compare telepsychiatry with I-P directly using standardized assessment instruments that permit meaningful comparisons. However, in those studies, the current meta-analysis concludes there is no difference in accuracy or satisfaction between the two modalities. Over the next few years, we expect telepsychiatry to replace I-P in certain research and clinical situations." (2005) Based on these studies it appears that there is not a significant difference between in-person (I-P) assessments and remote assessments.      According to Norman,  regarding his paper on telepsychiatry in the UK, "This paper concludes that the use of video conferencing can enhance psychiatric services within the UK especially for those patients who live in rural areas. Current advances in technology make this an increasingly more reliable and cost-effective method for assessing patients. The limitations of telemedicine are discussed and it is clear that this type of care is not suitable for all patients. Further research is required to assess the types of patients that telepsychiatry is most suitable for." (2006)      I think telepsychiatry can be very successful based on these studies. For me personally, it would make my life easier. I see my doctor every three months for medication management, this could easily be done via video conferencing. The cost effectiveness is also an important factor. However, based on my own experiences, there are some cases where seeing a psychiatrist  in person is important.     In remote areas, I think telepsychiatry could be extremely beneficial and cost effective. It allows those in rural areas get the care they need without having to drive long distance to see their doctor.  References: Hanson, C.W. (2007) Healthcare Informatics McGraw-Hill (2005) Can telepsychiatry replace in-person psychiatric assessments? A review and meta-analysis of comparison studies. Hyler SE, Gangure DP, Batchelder ST. CNS Spectr. 2005 May;10(5):403-13. Review. PMID:15858458 (2006)  The use of telemedicine in psychiatry S Norman J Psychiatr Ment Health Nurs. 2006 December; 13(6): 771–777. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2850.2006.01033.x

  

             Beaty, K. (2013) Telemedicine Applications