Program Management of Telemental Health Care Services

Abstract

Telemedicine is a new adjunct to the delivery of health care services that has been applied to a range of health care specialties, including mental health. When prospective telemedicine programs are planned, telemedicine is often envisaged as simply a question of introducing new technology. The development of a robust, sustainable telemen tal health program involves clinical, technical, and managerial considerations. The major barriers to making this happen are usually how practitioners and patients adapt successfully to the technology and not in the physical installation of telecommunications bandwidth and the associated hardware necessary for teleconsultation. This article outlines the requirements for establishing a viable telemental health service, one that is based on clinical need, practitioner acceptance, technical reliability, and revenue generation. It concludes that the major challenge associated with the implementation of telemental health does not lie in having the idea or in taking the idea to the project stage needed for proof of concept. The major challenge to the widespread adoption of telemental health is paying sufficient attention to the myriad of details needed to integrate models of remote health care delivery into the wider health care system. (J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol 2001; 14:80-87).