Emergency Department Telepsychiatry Programs Rare Despite Potential

OPEN MINDS Weekly News Wire Strategic Health Care News Among 43 telemedicine programs in the United States only eight offered emergency department telepsychiatry. The emergency department telepsychiatry programs appeared to provide quick and specialized care to patients at risk for psychiatric emergencies. By providing timely psychiatric evaluation in spoke sites—emergency departments at hospitals lacking an on-staff psychiatrist—the programs have the potential to reduce crowding in emergency departments and the potential to reduce costs. However, many of the emergency department telepsychiatry programs are grant funded, and thus may be unsustainable. These are findings of a report titled “Telepsychiatry . . .