Tele-Psychiatry Implementation Improves Access To Care In Rural Area
By Karla Paris
The concentration of specialist physicians, located in primarily urban areas, is no longer a concern for patients at Hamilton Memorial Hospital District.
Hamilton Memorial Hospital District (HMHD) in McLeansboro, IL has announced it is partnering with 1DocWay and CenterPointe Hospital in St. Charles, MO to improve access to mental health care services for area residents. Local healthcare professionals now have the ability to set up mental health appointments for patients in the region so that they can be treated over a secure video feed.
“Providing mental health services in a rural environment has always been a struggle” said Randy Dauby, HMHD’s CEO. “There is a shortage of psychiatrists throughout the county and especially in rural areas such as ours.
Taking into consideration it may take several weeks – if not months – to get patients the mental health treatment they need, this partnership promises to be a significant benefit to the region. By using HMHD’s web based Tele-Psychiatry services, patients are able to schedule secure, HIPPA compliant, real time appointments with a qualified psychiatrist located at CenterPointe Hospital.
The tele-psychiatry services provided through the partnership with 1Docway enables specialized and personalized mental health services to become accessible by connecting patients to licensed professionals.
In summary, 1DocWay’s tele-psychiatry services:
- increase access to psychiatric services available at a community facility
- improve community health and wellness, addressing mental health issues
- enhance the overall patient’s quality of life
To schedule an appointment, patients simply need to have their primary care provider contact HMHD's Family Clinic to inform the staff the provider wishes to make a mental health appointment for the patient. The patient will then come to HMHD's Family Clinic in McLeansboro at the designated time and be taken to a private, secure area. The nurse, who will be with the patient throughout the visit, will then make the connection via the video conferencing equipment where the psychiatrist in St. Louis will appear in real time.
The psychiatrist proceeds with the session just as they would in a face to face setting. Initial appointments with the mental health professional usually take approximately 45 minutes and subsequent follow up appointments will last 30 minutes.
Telemedicine has been growing in recent years and has greatly improved access to care for the 80 million Americans that live in Federally Designated Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas such as Hamilton County, White County, and most of Southern Illinois.