News Feature | November 26, 2014

Telemedicine Successful In PTSD Treatment

Katie Wike

By Katie Wike, contributing writer

Telemedicine In Dermatology Success

A University of Washington study has found success in telemedicine as an avenue for treatment of veterans in rural communities suffering from PTSD.

John C. Fortney, Ph.D. of the University of Washington and co-authors studied telemedicine-based care as it applied to veterans suffering from PTSD and found success in its use. According to researchers, about 9.2 percent of the veteran population suffers from posttraumatic stress disorder and many live in rural areas where access to needed psychotherapy is limited.

Fortney and his team created the Telemedicine Outreach for PTSD (TOP) intervention to improve PTSD outcomes for veterans treated at VHA community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs) without on-site psychiatrists or psychologists.

According to a press release, “Study results indicate that during the 12-month follow-up, 73 of 133 patients (54.9 percent) in the TOP intervention received cognitive processing therapy compared with 16 of 132 patients (12.1 percent) in UC.

“Patients in the TOP intervention also had larger decreases in scores on a posttraumatic diagnostic scale, which measures PTSD severity, at six and 12 months compared with UC patients. There were no significant group differences in the number of PTSD medications prescribed and adherence to medication regimens was not significant.” Those who attended eight or more sessions of cognitive processing therapy showed improvement in posttraumatic diagnostic scale scores.

Fierce Health IT reports that in 2014, the VA provided remote care to nearly 700,000 veterans. “A brick-and-mortar facility is not the only option for healthcare,” VA Secretary Robert A. McDonald said, according to the article. “We are exploring how we can more efficiently and effectively deliver healthcare services to better serve our veterans and improve their lives. Telehealth is one of those areas we have identified for growth.”

“Despite its limitations, this trial introduces a promising model for managing PTSD in a treatment-resistant population. Findings suggest that telemedicine-based collaborative care can successfully engage this population in evidence-based psychotherapy for PTSD, thereby improving clinical outcomes,” the researchers conclude.