Clinical Videoconferencing In Telehealth

Research findings and dissemination are making healthcare more effective. Electronic health records systems and advanced tools are making care delivery more efficient. Legislative reforms are striving to make care more affordable. Efforts still need to be focused on making healthcare more accessible. Clinical Videoconferencing in Telehealth takes a comprehensive and vital step forward in providing mental health and primary care services for those who cannot make traditional office visits, live in remote areas, have transportation or mobility issues or have competing demands. Practical, evidence-based information is presented in a step by step format at two levels: for administrators, including information regarding selecting the right videoconferencing technology, navigating regulatory issues, policy temples, boilerplate language for entering into care agreements with other entities and practical solutions to multisite programming; and for clinicians, including protocols for safe, therapeutically sound practice, informed consent and tips for overcoming common technical barriers to communication in clinical videoconferencing contexts. Checklists, tables, templates, links, vignettes and other tools help to equip professional readers for providing safe services that are streamlined and relevant while avoiding guesswork, false starts and waste. The book takes a friendly-mentor approach to communication in areas such as: Logistics for administrators: Clinical videoconferencing infrastructures and technologies Policy development, procedures and tools for responsible and compliant programming Navigating issues related to providing services in multiple locations Protocols for clinicians: The informed consent process in clinical videoconferencing Clinical assessment and safety planning for remote services Minimizing communication disruption and optimizing the therapeutic alliance Clinical Videoconferencing in Telehealth aptly demonstrates the promise and potential of this technology for clinicians, clinic managers, administrators and others affiliated with mental health clinical practices. It is designed to be the comprehensive “one-stop” tool for clinical videoconferencing service development for programs and individual clinicians.

This book works as a guide to videoconferencing practice for psychological providers through a broad, simplified, and practical overview of pertinent factors. It is a consolidation of research literature and professional experiences of practicing, teaching, and studying videoconferencing. It begins by defining key concepts such as telehealth, telepsychology, and other related terminology and examining the role of telehealth in addressing ongoing mental health disparities. An overview of existing videoconferencing practices, guidebooks and general recommendations, as well as specifics of ethical and legal factors are discussed. The book then details numerous essential factors of videoconferencing practice that are directly applicable to psychological care, including considerations of computer system, video camera, display screen, microphone, videoconferencing platform, bandwidth and latency, and room setup, along with self-care practices. The appendices provide readers with links to resources, checklists, and other documents to guide their practice. Psychologists, counselors, and other mental health providers will find this user-friendly, research-informed guide indispensable when implementing online treatment and teletherapy.

In 1996, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released its report Telemedicine: A Guide to Assessing Telecommunications for Health Care. In that report, the IOM Committee on Evaluating Clinical Applications of Telemedicine found telemedicine is similar in most respects to other technologies for which better evidence of effectiveness is also being demanded. Telemedicine, however, has some special characteristics-shared with information technologies generally-that warrant particular notice from evaluators and decision makers. Since that time, attention to telehealth has continued to grow in both the public and private sectors. Peer-reviewed journals and professional societies are devoted to telehealth, the federal government provides grant funding to promote the use of telehealth, and the private technology industry continues to develop new applications for telehealth. However, barriers remain to the use of telehealth modalities, including issues related to reimbursement, licensure, workforce, and costs. Also, some areas of telehealth have developed a stronger evidence base than others. The Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA) sponsored the IOM in holding a workshop in Washington, DC, on August 8-9 2012, to examine how the use of telehealth technology can fit into the U.S. health care system. HRSA asked the IOM to focus on the potential for telehealth to serve geographically isolated individuals and extend the reach of scarce resources while also emphasizing the quality and value in the delivery of health care services. This workshop summary discusses the evolution of telehealth since 1996, including the increasing role of the private sector, policies that have promoted or delayed the use of telehealth, and consumer acceptance of telehealth. The Role of Telehealth in an Evolving Health Care Environment: Workshop Summary discusses the current evidence base for telehealth, including available data and gaps in data; discuss how technological developments, including mobile telehealth, electronic intensive care units, remote monitoring, social networking, and wearable devices, in conjunction with the push for electronic health records, is changing the delivery of health care in rural and urban environments. This report also summarizes actions that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) can undertake to further the use of telehealth to improve health care outcomes while controlling costs in the current health care environment.

Telemedicineâ€"the use of information and telecommunications technologies to provide and support health care when distance separates the participantsâ€"is receiving increasing attention not only in remote areas where health care access is troublesome but also in urban and suburban locations. Yet the benefits and costs of this blend of medicine and digital technologies must be better demonstrated before today's cautious decision-makers invest significant funds in its development. Telemedicine presents a framework for evaluating patient care applications of telemedicine. The book identifies managerial, technical, policy, legal, and human factors that must be taken into account in evaluating a telemedicine program. The committee reviews previous efforts to establish evaluation frameworks and reports on results from several completed studies of image transmission, consulting from remote locations, and other telemedicine programs. The committee also examines basic elements of an evaluation and considers relevant issues of quality, accessibility, and cost of health care. Telemedicine will be of immediate interest to anyone with interest in the clinical application of telemedicine.

This book provides a basic introduction to geriatric telepsychiatry, including potential benefits and drawbacks of utilizing this treatment modality. The text discusses applications in academic, public, federal, and educational settings and suggests practical guidelines for implementing and maintaining a telepsychiatry program. As the elder population continues to grow over the next several decades, digital tools, including videoconferencing, will play a large role in meeting the needs of the elderly. Written by the leaders in geriatric telepsychiatry, this text is the first to focus on the psychiatric application of these digital tools, lay out the policies and guidelines for treating patients who can benefit from this service, and outline the most cutting-edge research on the topic. Geriatric Telepsychiatry is the ultimate guide for psychiatrists, geriatricians, social workers, geriatric nurses, students, long-term care facilitators, and all medical professionals who work with the elderly psychiatric patient.

Myers (psychiatry and behavioral sciences, U. of Washington School of Medicine) and Turvey (psychiatry, U. of Iowa College of Medicine) introduce the telemental health (TMH) model for treating mental disorders in rural and other patients with poor access to care. Following an overview of trends supporting the broader adoption of TMH, contributors discuss demographic changes and professional shortages that contribute to the problem, and solutions that TMH offers through videoconferencing, social networking, mobile applications, and eHealth. They treat clinical, ethical, technical, and business aspects of delivering TMH services. The work includes case studies, documentation templates, a glossary, directory of Telehealth Resource Centers, and websites. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).

Telebehavioral Health: Foundations in Theory and Practice for Graduate Learners provides readers with a comprehensive overview of telebehavioral health, including definitions and concepts, the benefits and barriers associated with practice, and an interprofessional framework for telebehavioral health competencies. It is the first book to address telehealth competencies for behavioral professionals worldwide. The competencies outlined help readers develop an engaged, ethical, and effective telebehavioral health practice. The book discusses and provides examples of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes involved in the seven telebehavioral health competency domains. The chapters include differentiated content for novice, proficient, and authority practitioners throughout, allowing readers to adjust their exposure, in terms of depth and breadth, to each topical area. The text provides an overview of the characteristics and practices unique to telebehavioral health treatment, guidance for competent evaluation and care, review of legal and regulatory issues related to the use of technology, valuable insight for telepractice development, and more. Designed to help practitioners thoughtfully consider the use of technology to support optimal therapeutic experiences for their patients, Telebehavioral Health is an ideal text for students within the discipline. It can also serve as a beneficial reference for novice and seasoned practitioners.