New North Carolina Telemedicine Program Aims To Solve The State's Vast Mental Healthcare Shortage

Carolina Partners in Mental HealthCare Launches New Campaign to Enhance Patient Access to Care

As of 2015, out of North Carolina’s 100 counties, 42 had a shortage of psychiatrists, including 27 which had no psychiatrists at all. Since then, the demand for behavioral health services has only continued to increase – as have the rates for mental illness, suicide, police shootings and wait times in emergency rooms across the state. A local family-owned medical practice is working to solve what has now become a behavioral health crisis for North Carolina.

Carolina Partners in Mental HealthCare has established a telemedicine program in which patients from any part of the state can access care via a virtual video consult. The practice is partnering with TouchCare, a prominent HIPAA-compliant mobile platform that allows patients to securely and easily connect with medical professionals. Beginning immediately, North Carolinians needing behavioral care can simple download the TouchCare app on a smartphone or tablet, complete a two-minute registration and request an appointment with Carolina Partners.

“The trickle-down effect of North Carolina’s mental healthcare shortage is seen every day with suicides, military PTSD, community violence and our emergency rooms clogged with people waiting days at a time for provider diagnosis and disposition,” said Carolina Partners CEO Stanley Monroe. “We are facing a crisis. One in five U.S. adults experience a mental illness each year. And last year, only 41 percent of them received professional services. We aim to change that for people in this state. Carolina Partners in Mental HealthCare is accessible, and we can and will help provide greater care through these virtual video appointments.”

Carolina Partners is the largest private mental health practice in the state with 25 convenient locations ranging from western to eastern North Carolina. It has more than 90 providers on staff, including certified psychiatrists, psychologists, advanced practice nurses, physician’s assistants, therapists, counselors, and child or adolescent specialists.

The practice selected TouchCare for its ability to seamlessly integrate alongside its existing EHR and practice management tools so that provider workflow would not change. The platform is also easy to set up, intuitive to operate and scalable from solo practitioners to large clinics or hospitals. Carolina Partners is considering leveraging the app to grow its own footprint without needing to build offices in each location, with some providers already licensed in other states ranging from Florida to New York.

“Mental healthcare issues are prominent across the entire country, from our hospitals to our streets, our schools to our jails,” said CEO of TouchCare Damian Gilbert. “The TouchCare technology is enabling Carolina Partners in Mental HealthCare to serve a greater population in many different ways. This program may be the catalyst to start bridging the enormous gap of mental health providers in North Carolina.”

Carolina Partners telemedicine appointments are now available and can include assessments, medication management, therapy and life coaching for conditions such as anxiety, depression and other mood disturbances, eating disorders, relationship conflict, sleep issues, memory issues, abuse, domestic violence and transgender issues. Current Carolina Partners patients will also benefit from the new technology, with more afterhours care options and the convenience of not always needing to travel to and from a physical office for appointments.

The Carolina Partners telemedicine program offers virtual visits on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., and Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Prices vary based on the provider and appointment type, beginning at $39 for scheduled appointments and $69 for on-demand Direct Care Appointments designed to handle more timely, afterhours or crisis situations. For more information, visit www.carolinapartners.com/programs/telehealth.php.;

About Carolina Partners in Mental HealthCare
Carolina Partners specializes in providing clients with accessible, comfortable and safe places to seek care. It was established in 1994 by siblings Yvonne, Steven and Stan Monroe with two offices in Henderson and Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Now 22 years later, the family business has grown to 25 locations throughout the state and has become the largest private mental health practice in the area. The network includes over 90 professional associates with diverse areas of mental health care expertise to provide comprehensive care. For more information, visit www.carolinapartners.com.

About TouchCare
Headquartered in Durham, North Carolina, TouchCare brings mobile health to mobile people, offering providers, practices and healthcare institutions a simple way to remotely connect with their own patients through private face-to-face video calls via smart phones or tablets. Case uses include primary care, pediatricians, urgent care, behavioral health and surgeons, among others. The TouchCare platform is used by providers at some of America's leading medical centers. For more information, visit www.touchcare.com.