Telemedicine in the Delivery of Psychiatric Services— An Evaluation
Author: Benjamin B. Brodey, M.D., M.P.H..; Keith H. Claypoole, Ph.D..; Inger S. Brodey, Ph.D..; Jeffrey Motto, R.N., M.A..; Robert G. Arias, Ph.D..
Source: Volume 03, Number 01, November/December 2001 , pp.9-10(2)
< previous article |next article > |return to table of contents
Abstract:
More than 10 percent of the total prison population are mentally ill (Ditton, 1999). Correctional facilities find it difficult either to arrange for clinicians to visit mentally ill inmates or to transport inmates for routine mental health care (Baer, 1997). Telepsychiatry — the use of telemedicine technology for delivering psychiatric services — potentially eliminates these obstacles. Recent investigations have strongly supported telepsychiatry’s efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and high diagnostic reliability (Ruskin, 1998; Baigent, 1997; Baer, L, 1995).Keywords: Characteristics, satisfaction, in-person interviews, Brief Symptom Inventory, Global Severity Index
Affiliations:
1: University of Washington Medical School; 2: University of Hawaii; 3: University of Puget Sound; 4: Virginia Mason Medical Center; 5: West Virginia University School of Medicine.