Telepsychiatry

What is Telepsychiatry?

Telepsychiatry is a psychiatric consultation conducted over video or phone telehealth rather than in-person.

The American Psychiatric Association states that:

The use of telepsychiatry helps meet client needs for convenient, affordable, and readily-accessible mental health services. With a robust evidence base that shows telepsychiatry leading to improved outcomes and higher patient satisfaction ratings, policymakers, payers, and providers are increasingly considering ways to implement and use telepsychiatry.

Telepsychiatry has some similarities to in-person consultations and some key differences too. You still need to establish a rapport and follow established clinical practice guidelines and codes of conduct. There are some additional considerations, though.

Privacy, for example, may require more effort. You can control your own environment but you need to encourage your client to consider their own privacy and you’re also responsible for ensuring you use a secure platform for the telehealth consultation. Coviu is strong in this regard with a strong commitment to security and compliance. Coviu's software is HIPAA compliant, ISO 27001 compliant, FERPA compliant, and end-to-end encrypted. 

What clients are suitable for a Telepsychiatry consult?

As a psychiatrist, you treat patients with serious mental health conditions, such as:

•     Severe depression
•     Anxiety disorders
•     Bipolar disorder
•     Schizophrenia
•     Eating disorders
•     ADHD
•     OCD
•     PTSD.

You have to judge whether each patient is suitable for telepsychiatry. For some patients, it’s a wonderful provision because in-person consultations were difficult for them due to distance or travel difficulties. For other patients, telepsychiatry proves too difficult, due to technical problems or cultural differences.

Whether a patient is suitable for a telepsychiatry consultation depends on:

•     Their circumstances:
  • Do they have any sensory or cognitive impairments that might make using telehealth difficult?
  • Are they digitally literate?
  • Do they have access to the necessary technology and the internet?
  • Do they have a private space to talk?

•     The nature of the consultation:
  • Are you concerned for their safety?
  • Do you know how to contact their family doctor or carer?
  • Do they have access to a local mental health service?
    
    
•     Whether they give consent to telehealth.

Sometimes your patients will be stable while, at other times, they may be more vulnerable. 

Adapt your practice

The world has changed and we’ve all had to change with it in many different ways. Providing telepsychiatry is a way to adapt your practice to the new normal and give your patients the support they need as they too adjust.

Try Coviu on us

Change doesn’t have to be hard. Many clients tell us they find Coviu easy to navigate and love the difference it makes to their practice.

So, try it out for free for 2-weeks. No commitment or credit card required.

“Coviu provides a reliable, effective, and secure means of offering therapy in a face-to-face online context. Coviu is simple, flexible, and easy to use”

Chris Larkin, Psychologist