Evaluating Telehealth's Impact on Mental Health Treatment

1 Discussion Post Name Institution Course Instructor Date

2 Discussion Post Evaluation of the efficacy of using telehealth with mild, moderate, and severe mental health disorders. Today, Telehealth has emerged as one of the leading healthcare technological trends providing healthcare services to many patients. Telehealth become popular during the COVID-19 pandemic as it was extensively used by healthcare organizations to provide healthcare services to patients at home during the pandemic. During the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown, Telehealth was widely used to treat mental health disorders with symptoms ranging from mild, to moderate, to severe. In the post-pandemic era, telehealth has remained a very important healthcare practice for doctors to provide mental health services to patients. Through Telepsychiatry, psychiatrists can deliver psychiatric services and make follow-ups through different telecommunications technology such as mobile phone calls, text messages, video conferencing, and other online platforms available. According to Hilty, et. al. (2013) telehealth services for mental disorders diagnosis and assessment are very effective and comparable to in-person office visits for mild, moderate, and severe mental health cases. Through Telepsychiatry, patients can access mental healthcare services from their doctors in the comfort of their homes significantly reducing the costs of healthcare services. Assess the integration of evidence-based practices into the telehealth trend in psychotherapy According to Gros et. al. (2013), the integration of evidence-based practices into the telehealth trend in psychotherapy showed outstanding outcomes in terms of cost-

3 effectiveness and clinical efficacy. Also, telehealth showed improved patient and provider acceptance and satisfaction with the mental health services provided. Assess the appropriateness of using telephone, text-based, virtual clinics, and/or video telehealth After reviewing the mental healthcare services, I identified in my week one assignment, I have determined that the use of Telehealth services to provide mental health services appropriate. Telehealth services will provide an efficient and effective way of delivering the needed mental health services, especially to people living in rural and remote areas. Patients from such areas do not need to travel long distances to the cities or urban areas to access mental health services and this saves them money and time. This helps improve access to healthcare services for patients in rural and remote areas. Ethical and professional issues you might encounter and explain the risks and benefits of using these delivery methods The use of Telehealth services raises several ethical and professional services. One of the ethical challenges with the use of these services is the privacy and confidentiality of patient information. Since the data is through online platforms, it can easily be accessed by unauthorized personnel. Thus, healthcare professionals need to ensure the privacy of the patient data. A professional challenge that might arise from Telehealth is maintaining professional boundaries when interacting with patients in non-traditional treatment environments. According to Baker and Bufka (2011), the healthcare provider needs to establish and promote adherence to officer hours and the official means of communication to

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4 avoid inappropriate happenings. In the use of Telehealth, finding ways to navigate these risks and challenges will provide both patients and providers with many benefits that can enhance and promote psychiatric practices and patient care with reduced healthcare costs.

5 References Baker, D.C., & Bufka, L. F. (2011). Preparing for the telehealth world: navigating legal, regulatory, reimbursement, and ethical issues in an electronic age. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice , 42(6), 405-411. Gros, D. F., Morland, L. A., Greene, C. J., Acierno, R., Strachan, M., Egede, L. E., Frueh, B. C., (2013). Delivery of evidence-based psychotherapy via video telehealth. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment , 35(40. 506-521. Hilty, D. M., Ferrer, D. C., Parish, M. B., Johnston, B., Callahan, E. J., & Yellowlees, P. M. (2013). The effectiveness of telemental health: a 2013 review. Telemedicine journal and e-health: the official journal of the American Telemedicine Association , 19(6), 444–454.

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