TeleMental Health / Telemedicine is the use of the telephone, e-mail, chat rooms, and other Internet and satellite-based technologies to provide direct clinical services.
TeleMental health has also been referred to as TeleMental health,Telemedicine or E-Health. It refers to the general term of delivery of medicine via digital means in a non in-person situation. When it comes to psychology, counseling and mental health services, it has been called TeleMental Health, TelePsychology, E-Counseling, E-Psychotherapy, TelePsychiatry, Internet-based psychotherapy, and other similar names, including TeleAnalysis for conducting psychoanalytic psychotherapy via telehealth technologies. Telemedicine or telemental health is the use of electronic communication and information technologies to provide or support clinical care at a distance.
The use of telecommunications and information technology to provide access to health intervention, consultation, assessment, supervision, education, and information across distances. In most general terms, telemedicine is defined as the use of technology to provide clinical services.
Telemental Health
Telemental Health Activities:
TeleMental health may include using the telephone, text, e-mail, or interactive tele-video-conferencing technologies for:
Crisis intervention or other contacts between in-person sessions.
Conducting sessions with patients who are not able to attend in-person sessions for a period of time.
Conducting psychotherapy with an individual in a different geographical area with or without in-person face-to-face contact.
Providing assessment, prevention or treatment of mental disorders or related services to an individual in a different location.
Conducting psychotherapy via phone or Internet synchronistically (i.e., at the same time, such as on the phone or via video-conferencing) or a-synchronistically (i.e., sequential, via text, e-mail or chat).
All teleMental health activities must comply with the HIPAA Security Standards and all other applicable state and federal laws and regulations.
If the member is a minor child, a parent/guardian must present the minor child for telemedicine services unless otherwise exempted by State or Federal law. The parent/guardian need not attend the telemental health.telemedicine session unless attendance is therapeutically appropriate.
Possible Risks:
TeleMental health may include using the telephone, text, e-mail, or interactive tele-video-conferencing technologies for:
Crisis intervention or other contacts between in-person sessions.
Conducting sessions with patients who are not able to attend in-person sessions for a period of time.
Conducting psychotherapy with an individual in a different geographical area with or without in-person face-to-face contact.
Providing assessment, prevention or treatment of mental disorders or related services to an individual in a different location.
Conducting psychotherapy via phone or Internet synchronistically (i.e., at the same time, such as on the phone or via video-conferencing) or a-synchronistically (i.e., sequential, via text, e-mail or chat).
All teleMental health activities must comply with the HIPAA Security Standards and all other applicable state and federal laws and regulations.
If the member is a minor child, a parent/guardian must present the minor child for telemedicine services unless otherwise exempted by State or Federal law. The parent/guardian need not attend the telemental health.telemedicine session unless attendance is therapeutically appropriate.
Expected Benefits:
Improved access to specialty mental health services for assessment and ongoing treatment.
Improved quality of mental healthcare.
Better integration of specialty mental health services into the patient’s health care more generally.
Reduced costs for accessing specialty mental health services (e.g., time, travel costs).
Reduced wait time.
Improved continuity of care and follow-up.