Is Telepsychiatry Here to Stay?

As much of the world reopens, signaling a transition from the COVID-19 pandemic period back to “normal,” one question is at the forefront of many patients’ and health care professionals’ minds: is telehealth here to stay?

In this video recorded on-site at Psych Congress 2022, Psych Congress Network Telehealth Section Editor Steven R. Chan, MD, MBA, reviews what health care professionals have learned about telehealth over the past 2 and a half years, explains why both patient and clinicians tend to prefer remote mental health care, and emphasizes how prevalent the technology has become in the field of psychiatry.

To learn more about telepsychiatry, visit our Telehealth Center of Excellence.

For major highlights from Psych Congress 2022, explore our conference newsroom.

Read the Transcript:

Steven R. Chan, MD, MBA: I think one of the things we've learned is that telehealth is feasible and definitely something that a lot of people prefer. We're finding that a lot of patients prefer it. They don't want to drive, they don't want to take the metro to see a clinician, and it takes a lot of time and money for that travel time. Not only that, but a lot of clinicians are preferring positions that are specifically allowing one to work from home or work remotely, and it has a lot of positive benefits.

I do truly think that telehealth is here to stay. One of my dear friends and colleagues, Dr. Ed Kaftarian spoke at Psych Congress about how just prior to the COVID pandemic, very few people would raise their hands and say that they were conducting telehealth visits, and now everyone raises their hands in the audience saying that they all do telehealth. It really served as sort of a personal protective equipment--PPE--for us during our very tough time in COVID. Now we're finding that it has a lot of benefits: accessibility, convenience, even a positive impact on climate change and a decrease in pollution.

I think that there are some aspects of digital mental health where it's still more challenging to conduct, say, everything by remotely. So for instance, a lot of folks prefer to have an in-person group experience where they can see, hear other patients who are in the vicinity. That has its own challenges: infection control procedures, not being able to see other people's faces if they're masked. Many healthcare settings are still requiring masks to be worn on site. So those have its own set of challenges. But by and large, I would say digital mental health really has made a positive impact over the COVID-19 pandemic.

Steven Chan, MD, MBA, (@StevenChanMD, www.stevenchanMD.com) is an actively-practicing physician at Palo Alto VA Health, specializing in psychiatry, clinical informatics, and healthcare technology. Dr Chan performs clinical research in areas of telehealth and digital mental health, with applications in underserved and minority health. Dr. Chan is a sought-after national speaker whose ideas, thoughts, and research have been featured by Talks At Google, JAMA, Telemedicine and e-Health, Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR), Wired, PBS, and NPR Ideastream.