Planning and Implementing Telepsychiatry in a Community Mental Health Setting: A Case Study Report
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Planning and Implementing Telepsychiatry in a Community Mental Health Setting: A Case Study Report Hossam Mahmoud1,2 · Hady Naal3 · Snezana Cerda4 Received: 6 June 2020 / Accepted: 2 September 2020 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Healthcare institutions in the United States are increasingly adopting telehealth services given their numerous benefits in enhancing access to care. Despite that, few accounts of such organizational experiences in the literature exist, especially those pertaining to telepsychiatry. In this case study, we report the planning and implementation of a telepsychiatry program adopted by a community mental health organization in suburban Chicago, Illinois from 2017 until 2019. We analyze findings gathered from the organization’s secondary archival data, highlighting process and outcome evaluations of the program. Results show high levels of patient engagement compared to in-person service modality. Also, our results show an increase in the number of patients served, efficiency in service delivery, decreases in patient wait time to accessing services, and overall positive feedback from patients, families, and staff members. We discuss the successes and challenges encountered by the organization and synthesize them into practical applications recommended for similar initiatives. Keywords Telepsychiatry · Program implementation · Community mental health · Access to care
Introduction Background and Problem Statement Many healthcare facilities have been turning to telepsychiatry, a web-based videoconferencing modality for the delivery of mental health services, as a means to enhance access to mental health care (Spivak et al. 2019). Seeing the increased demand for mental health services, along with the multiple access barriers, telepsychiatry has become a more attractive
* Hady Naal [email protected] Hossam Mahmoud [email protected] Snezana Cerda [email protected] 1
Insight+Regroup Telehealth, 4525 Ravenswood Ave #201, Chicago, IL 60640, USA
2
Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston,, USA
3
Global Health Institute at the American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
4
The Josselyn Center, 405 Central Ave, Northfield, Chicago, IL 60093, USA
option, due to a combination of increased acceptability, feasibility and cost-effectiveness (Chan et al. 2015; Hossam Mahmoud and Vogt 2019; Hossam Mahmoud, Vogt, Dahdouh, and Raymond, 2020; Naal et al. 2020; Spivak et al. 2019). This has been further highlighted during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, in which the importance of telepsychiatry became even more pronounced (Whaibeh et al. 2020; Peter Yellowlees et al. 2020). In fact, according to recent data, a staggering 4347% increase in telehealth videoconference use was noted as a response to the limitations imposed by the COVID-19 (Gelburd 2020). Despite that, significant challenges associated with its implementation continue to be reported (Hossam Mahmoud et al. 2019), and more reports are needed to do
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