scholarly journals Telemental Health Care: A Review of Efficacy and Interventions

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Calvin T. Schaffer ◽  
Preeti Nakrani ◽  
Paul A. Pirraglia
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
Quality Care ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mental Health Practitioners ◽  
Telemental Health ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Health Practitioners

Objective: Mental illness continues to rise in the United States, burdening a healthcare system set to dive further into a shortage of mental health practitioners. The effects of this are already being felt in many rural areas, which are all too frequently understaffed to address the mental health concerns of their populations. To further compound this growing crisis, COVID-19 has led to a reduction in access to in-person care. Furthermore, COVID-19 has led to reduced access to in-person care. As a result, Telehealth has become more essential. Knowledge of the strategies and barriers to implement a successful Telehealth program is necessary to deliver a sustainable, accessible, and quality care. Design: In this review, we analyze published research on the efficacy of Telehealth for mental health, discuss how these services have been implemented, and explore how to address barriers to quality care delivery via Telehealth. Results: Telehealth, when the appropriate resources and supports are considered, is effective in a wide range of patient populations and care locations. Multiple modalities, including via video, apps, and telephone were shown to be efficacious. Interventions have been shown to increase the accessibility to care without compromising quality of care. Conclusions: Telehealth constitutes a well-researched, efficacious tool to address the issues in access to care. Telemental health programs should address the barriers to implementation, including training, access to technology, reimbursement and regulations, and adequate program oversight. Telehealth interventions should be strongly considered in areas facing shortages of mental health practitioners and long wait times for patients with mental health disorders, to reduce the burden of mental illness on healthcare.

Telepsychiatry Use in Rural Areas in the United States

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Alberto Coustasse ◽  
Morgan Ruley ◽  
Tonnie C. Mike ◽  
Briana M. Washington ◽  
Anna Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Quality Of Care ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
Mental Healthcare ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
The United States ◽  
Access And Quality

Rural areas have experienced a higher than average shortage of healthcare professionals. Numerous challenges have limited access to mental health services. Some of these barriers have included transportation, number of providers, poverty, and lack of insurance. Recently, the utilization of telepsychiatry has increased in rural areas. The purpose of this review was to identify and coalesce the benefits of telepsychiatry for adults living in rural communities in the United States to determine if telepsychiatry has improved access and quality of care. The methodology for this study was a literature review that followed a systematic approach. References and sources were written in English and were taken from studies in the United States between 2004 and 2018 to keep this review current. Fifty-nine references were selected from five databases. It was found that several studies supported that telepsychiatry has improved access and quality of care available in rural environments. At the same time, telepsychiatry in mental healthcare has not been utilized as it should in rural adult populations due to lack of access, an overall shortage of providers, and poor distribution of psychiatrists. There are numerous benefits to implementing telepsychiatry in rural areas. While there are still barriers that prevent widespread utilization, telepsychiatry can improve mental health outcomes by linking rural patients to high-quality mental healthcare services that follow evidence-based care and best practices. Telepsychiatry utilization in rural areas in the United States has demonstrated to have a significant ability to transform mental health care delivery and clinician productivity. As technology continues to advance access, telepsychiatry will also advance, making access more readily available.

scholarly journals Telemental Health and US Rural–Urban Differences in Specialty Mental Health Use, 2010–2017

2020 ◽  
Vol 110 (9) ◽  
pp. 1308-1314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sadiq Y. Patel ◽  
Haiden A. Huskamp ◽  
Alisa B. Busch ◽  
Ateev Mehrotra
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Bipolar Disorder ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
The United States ◽  
Specialty Care ◽  
Health Care Use ◽  
Telemental Health ◽  
Specialty Mental Health ◽  
Medicare Data ◽  
Rural And Urban

Objectives. To examine whether growing use of telemental health (TMH) has reduced the rural–urban gap in specialty mental health care use in the United States. Methods. Using 2010–2017 Medicare data, we analyzed trends in the rural–urban difference in rates of specialty visits (in-person and TMH). Results. Among rural beneficiaries diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, TMH use grew by 425% over the 8 years and, in higher-use rural areas, accounted for one quarter of all specialty mental health visits in 2017. Among patients with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, TMH visits differentially grew in rural areas by 0.14 visits from 2010 to 2017. This growth partially offset the 0.42-visit differential decline in in-person visits in rural areas. In net, the gap between rural and urban patients in specialty visits was larger by 2017. Conclusions. TMH has improved access to specialty care in rural areas, particularly for individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. While growth in TMH use has been insufficient to eliminate the overall rural–urban difference in specialty care use, this difference may have been larger if not for TMH. Public Health Implications. Targeted policy to extend TMH to underserved areas may help offset declines in in-person specialty care.

Documentation and Record Keeping Are Burdens to Be Completed as Quickly as Possible

2019 ◽  
pp. 117-122
Author(s):  
Jeffrey E. Barnett ◽  
Jeffrey Zimmerman
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Quality Care ◽  
Mental Health Practitioners ◽  
Record Keeping ◽  
Legal Obligations ◽  
Health Practitioners ◽  
Care Information ◽  
Clinical Records

Documentation and record keeping are not known as the most enjoyable aspects of being a mental health clinician. Yet, as this chapter explains, they play a vital and important role in meeting one’s ethical and legal obligations. Further, it is explained how timely, thorough, effective documentation can help mental health practitioners to fulfill their obligation to provide the highest possible quality of care. Information is also provided on how clinical records may be needed in the future, and the risks associated with minimal or absent documentation. The role of documentation as a risk management strategy, to meet legal requirements, and to assist in providing high-quality care are each addressed. Specific guidance is provided on the needed components of effective documentation.

Personal reactions to sexual assault disclosures made by female clients diagnosed with serious mental illness

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 248-256
Author(s):  
Charlotte Strauss Swanson ◽  
Tracy Schroepfer
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Serious Mental Illness ◽  
Mental Health Practitioners ◽  
Personal Factors ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Health Practitioners ◽  
Female Clients

Purpose Mental health practitioners working with female clients diagnosed with a serious mental illness (SMI) often face client disclosures of sexual assault. Research has shown that practitioners’ responses can be complicated by the diagnosis and lack of professional training; however, less is known about the role their personal factors may play. The purpose of this paper is twofold: to further understanding of practitioners’ personal reactions and investigate how these reactions affect their professional response. Design/methodology/approach Nine mental health practitioners participated in face-to-face interviews, in which they were asked to describe their personal reactions when faced with a disclosure and to discuss how these reactions influence client assessment, treatment and referral. Findings The study results show that lacking training, practitioners expressed feelings of uncertainty, fear and worry about how best to respond without causing further harm. Findings serve to inform future training to support practitioners and, as a result, improve care and treatment for this population. Originality/value This study is unique because it explores the personal reactions mental health practitioners’ experience when responding to disclosures of sexual assault among women diagnosed with an SMI and how these reactions may impact their professional response.

scholarly journals Commentary on Jonathan Raskin’s “What Might an Alternative to the DSM Suitable for Psychotherapists Look Like?”

2018 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 376-384
Author(s):  
Rachel Cooper
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mental Health Practitioners ◽  
Health Care Insurance ◽  
New Classification ◽  
Statistical Manual ◽  
Diagnostic And Statistical Manual ◽  
Basic Assumptions ◽  
Health Practitioners ◽  
History Of

Many mental health practitioners find it necessary to use the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ( DSM) for insurance purposes but are unhappy with its basic assumptions. This raises the question—Would it be possible to devise a new classification system that (1) could be used for insurance purposes and (2) would be based on alternative principles? In the main, this commentary is pessimistic. Through considering the history of attempts to devise alternatives to the DSM, I will argue that it would be extremely difficult to develop an alternative to the DSM that could be used to fund psychotherapy via health care insurance in the United States.

Hmong women, marital factors and mental health status

2011 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 164-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pa Der Vang ◽  
Matthew Bogenschutz
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mental Health Practitioners ◽  
Great Effort ◽  
Health Practitioners ◽  
Traditional Marriage ◽  
Socio Demographic Factors ◽  
Hmong Women ◽  
Marital Abuse

• Summary: An online survey was completed by Hmong women in the United States ( n = 186). The survey was distributed via listserves and websites frequently used by Hmong women, and solicited information about marital factors, presence and intensity of depressive symptoms, and socio-demographic circumstances. • Findings: The findings of this article indicate a significant relationship between marital abuse and depression among women married as teenagers when compared to non-abused women who married in adulthood. Excessive worry and feeling like everything takes great effort were the two most frequently reported indicators of depression reported by Hmong women in this sample. Additional marital and socio-demographic factors are explored in their relationship with depressive presentation. • Applications: These findings suggest that mental health practitioners working with Hmong women may need to be particularly attuned to issues of marital stressors related to traditional marriage practices and cultural stressors.

Mental Illness: Service System

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lonnie R. Snowden
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Health Problem ◽  
Service System ◽  
Quality Care ◽  
The United States ◽  
System P ◽  
Public Recognition

This entry describes the extent of the mental health problem in the United States, trends in treatment rates, and evidence that public recognition of mental illness and related interventions is increasing both in the United States and internationally. Emphasis is given to the structure of the mental health system's major sectors, to the key roles that social workers play, and to the challenges they face, outlined at the conclusion of several sections, in providing effective and quality care against the complex backdrop of this system.

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