Coviu Blog

Telepsychology sits within the broader category of telehealth. It refers to the delivery of mental health services through the use of telecommunication techniques to facilitate long-distance client and clinician contact, care, advice, reminders, education, intervention, and monitoring. 

  Dr. Rebecca Frost, Clinical Psychologist and Director of Benchmark Psychology   How can we digitise healthcare services without compromising human interaction? For Benchmark Psychology this was one of the key questions when designing video telehealth services for their clients. Using Coviu’s Virtual Waiting Area, Benchmark Psychology was able to achieve exactly that - create a video telehealth service that is just like an in-person experience.

Kathy Matheson, Psychologist and Founder of Karepsych

Speech pathologists and psychologists across Australia & New Zealand will now be able to conduct a valid remote clinical assessment via a telehealth consult from the Coviu platform.

Mental health is one of Australia's most significant health issues, with almost half of the population experiencing mental illness at some point in their lives. Furthermore, 54% of those experiencing poor mental health will not access any treatment. These figures are alarming in their own right, often materialising into high suicide rates. As a society, we are facing an uphill battle when it comes to reducing the prevalence of such health conditions.

We often tell you about the amazing benefits telehealth offers you and your patients. However, we’ve not yet delved into an important aspect of telehealth – clinical appropriateness.

A 2016 Headspace report revealed significant insights into the mental health of tertiary students in Australia. A whopping 85% of students recognised a potential need for help, yet barriers such as worrying what other people would think or being too embarrassed to ask for help affected 1 in 5 students.

Do you start most of your mental health appointments with a version of: “How have you been since I last saw you?” Only to receive anywhere from a one-word answer (“Ok”) to 50 minutes of details on mood swings? As a mental health practitioner who wants to provide the best care possible, we bet you’d like to know what’s happening with your patients between sessions, without being bombarded by emails, texts, or calls and in a way that is user-friendly for you and your patients.

The model is based on the 'Australian Statistical Geography Standard - Remoteness Areas (ASGS-RA)' existing classification system, which uses census data to segment 5 categories of remoteness, yet further subdivides regional Australia based on the size of local towns or cities.