As of recent reports, more than half, 169 million, of the U.S. population lives in a mental health shortage area. The varying structure in behavioral health providers’ scope of practice and increased burnout of physicians have impacted the accessibility of behavioral health nationwide. Due to these challenges, Tele-Psychiatry uniquely stands as a tool to expand integrated care and help alleviate behavioral health workforce shortage and maldistribution. The question isn’t, why use telemedicine for psychiatry services, but why not?
Staffing Shortages and Their Impact on Communities
Health systems nationwide struggle to obtain and retain qualified psychiatrists because of increasing specialist shortages, limiting their ability to recruit and retain staff. The mounting shortage increases hospital expenses and reduces their resilience. With high recruiting and retention costs, many hospitals find establishing psychiatry departments challenging, which impacts both their revenue and the communities they serve. Shortages have caused patient transfer rates to rise in local hospitals, often eliminating access in general. In 2022, approximately 59 million U.S. adults had a mental illness they suffered from, and nearly half received no treatment. These limitations affect the community’s welfare and restrict a hospital’s ability to thrive financially.
Telemedicine Expanding Access to Psychiatry
Telemedicine, specifically Tele-Psychiatry, provides a powerful solution – enabling hospitals to deliver 24/7 psychiatric consultations, admissions, diagnoses and more. Telemedicine offers a flexible and cost-effective way for hospitals to extend psychiatric care to underserved areas.
Through virtual exams and physician-to-physician consultations, Tele-Psychiatrists can help hospitals improve their ability to provide psychiatric care. Further, by reducing patient travel burdens and providing timely care, telemedicine can enhance hospital standing within the community, improving patient satisfaction rates while increasing revenue opportunities for smaller hospitals.
Tele-Psychiatry’s Impact in Action
Before 2020, telehealth options comprised less than 1% of conducted behavioral health visits. Due to the pandemic, the use of telemedicine for behavioral health visits skyrocketed. Hospitals with psychiatry support have become a part of the solution and are seeing results. These hospitals have seen:
– Improved Continuity of Care: Patients have received improved outcomes by enabling integrative behavioral health and primary care.
– Reduced Emergency Department (ED) Visits: Hospitals have seen decreased ED visits by providing direct mental health resources, educating and empowering patients to take control of the care they need.
– Reduced Delays in Care: Hospitals can serve more patients with increased efficiency by increasing their virtual staff.
– Reduced Transportation Barriers: Through tele-psychiatry, underserved areas can access this specialty care without commuting to a distant facility.
– Reduced Stigma: In the past, many looked down on mental health care. As a byproduct of increased access, mental health education has improved.
Hospitals everywhere can benefit from adding psychiatry services, but a traditional, in-person physician team isn’t always possible. A permanent psychiatry solution is achievable when hospitals use telemedicine to support hybrid care.
Today, telemedicine continues to bridge the gap in psychiatry access and enables hospitals to serve their communities better while improving their bottom line with reduced patient transfers. Through Tele-Psychiatry, hospitals can expand their capabilities, support community health and improve financial outcomes, offering an opportunity for any hospital to help address our nation’s behavioral health epidemic. To learn more, check out Eagle’s Telemedicine Solutions.
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