Overcoming the Challenges of Telehealth Treatment 

Although the COVID-19 pandemic helped to normalize telemedicine, there is still a long way to go. Even though telehealth treatment is more accessible and convenient for some patients and brings other benefits for clinicians, it can also mean a whole new set of problems. Technology issues, remaining bias against virtual care, and fast-moving rules and regulations are all issues clinicians still face. In this clip from Psych Congress 2022 in New Orleans, Louisiana, Edward Kaftarian, MD, discusses the remaining challenges of telemedicine. 

Dr Kaftarian presented "Telehealth Rules and Regulations: A Post-Pandemic Update" at Psych Congress 2022. Be sure to reserve your spot now for Psych Congress 2023 and join us in Nashville, Tennessee, next September! For more news and insights from this year's conference, visit the newsroom.

Edward Kaftarian, MD, is chairman and CEO of Orbit Health Telepsychiatry. Dr Kaftarian is a nationally recognized psychiatrist and leader in the field of telepsychiatry and healthcare technology. Trained at the world-renowned Johns Hopkins Hospital, he is board-certified in psychiatry, forensic psychiatry and addiction medicine. Dr Kaftarian has served in a variety of executive roles within the California prison system, including chief psychiatrist, senior psychiatrist, medical director, and director of pharmacy. He is the founder of California’s Statewide Prison Telepsychiatry Program, which is the largest correctional telepsychiatry program in the world.

Read the Transcript:

I would say first and foremost, bad audio. So video is really typically easy to establish, although there can be some challenges with video if you're not properly framed. And if you're not able to see your patient very clearly. But oftentimes people get the video part right, it's the audio that oftentimes messes up the appointment. And when you can't hear your patient or when it's really choppy—just think of when you're talking with somebody on the telephone. When it gets really choppy, it very much interrupts and inhibits your ability to communicate. So same thing with audio, with the telehealth visit. When you don't have audio clear, it becomes very, very challenging.

I would say that it used to be challenging in terms of winning over hearts and minds for telehealth. Now that the pandemic has come, it's a lot easier for us to convince decision-makers as well as patients and providers that telehealth is the way to go. So that is another challenge, but that's a challenge that's less of a factor.

And then of course, the challenge of staying on top of fast-moving rules and regulations. And these rules and regulations apply to all sorts of things such as what counts as telemedicine, how to prescribe medications, especially controlled substances, and how to deal with patients that may not be located in the state that you're licensed in. So some of these licensing questions are a challenge as well.