Telemedicine is both a clinically and cost-effective manner for treating patients with mental disorders, according to a research analysis published this month in the journal Telemedicine and e-Health.
For the article, researchers led by Rashid Bashshur, executive director of eHealth at the University of Michigan Health System, reviewed 59 studies published between 2005 and 2015; each study boasted sample sizes of no less than 150 participants, a figure deemed statistically "sufficient" by the authors. The studies were broken down into four categories:
- Studies that examined the feasibility/acceptance of telemental health (TMH) (22)
- Studies that examined intermediate outcomes, which typically were related to medication adherence (7)
- Studies focusing on improvements of symptoms and quality of life (25)
- Studies that examined cost issues (5)
All studies focusing on medication adherence, as well as symptoms and quality of life, reported positive outcomes, the researchers determined.
"The empirical evidence presented in this article demonstrates the capability of TMH to perform these functions more effectively and as well as or more effectively than in-person care," they said.
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center data from the first three years it offered care through a patient portal indicate a need for mental health care offerings, according to research published this month in the American Journal of Managed Care.
From the 3,601 eVisits conducted between April 2009 and mid-June 2012, 23.9 percent chose the "other" option when their reason for visiting the site wasn't among the offered diagnoses, such as sinusitis and urinary tract infections. Of these 685 patients, 13.4 percent received mental health diagnoses, primarily for anxiety and depression. Those users tended to be female and younger than other eVisit patients. It also took physicians longer to respond to them.
Meanwhile, in California this month, a $100,000 grant from QueensCare, a public charity that operates its own healthcare programs, will help USC Telehealth expand a new program. USC Telehealth is a telemental health clinic located at the University of Southern California's School of Social Work. The grant will help it expand teletherapy sessions to 90 additional families with special needs.
While the Department of Veterans Affairs has been at the forefront of offering mental health care via telemedicine, Carolinas HealthCare System is among the civilian providers making mental health care part of comprehensive primary care.
To learn more:
- here's the study's abstract