Abstract
The Child and Adolescent Psychological Telemedicine Outreach Service (CAPTOS) in Sydney has been providing telepsychiatry services in New South Wales (NSW) for ten years. Services are provided to over 40 sites in remote and rural NSW. There are eight telepsychiatry clinics a week, providing almost 600 consultations a year. As well as telepsychiatry, three additional services are provided: professional supervision, education and training, and Aboriginal child and adolescent mental health traineeships. The service was re-evaluated in 2004 using a semi-structured interview to obtain information about service satisfaction and effectiveness from hub and rural clinicians. There continues to be a high level of satisfaction with the telepsychiatry service and with other telemedicine services, such as clinical supervision and teaching. Videoconferencing appears to be a highly effective and well accepted method of providing mental health care to remote and rural children, adolescents and families. CAPTOS has developed into an integral part of child and adolescent mental health services in remote and rural New South Wales.
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