The Ehealth, Telehealth and Telemedicine Blog

New Practice Guidelines for the Use of Videoconferencing in the Delivery of Mental Health Services

by Marlene M. Maheu, Ph. D. on 02/12/09 at 6:05 pm

The American Telemedicine Association issued the following news release this week:

Guidelines Approved for Delivery of Remote Mental Health Services

The American Telemedicine Association (ATA) announced the availability
of formal practice guidelines for the use of videoconferencing for the
delivery of mental health services.

These guidelines are designed to form the standard of care for such
services and will be the basis for the development and practice of
uniform, effective, safe and sustainable telemental health practices.

They will serve as both an operational reference and an educational tool
to aid in providing appropriate care for patients.

The use of telemental health has been in existence for over 40 years.

It has been used successfully as a tool for treatment in diverse areas
such as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), providing counseling
services in rural areas and offering health medication management for
institutionalized patients.

A number of payers and health services are starting to offer telemental
health service benefits and may soon adopt these guidelines as their
basis for coverage.

The guidelines focus on the use of two-way, interactive
videoconferencing in the delivery of telemental health services, which
now has an abundance of significant research documenting its
effectiveness as well as a comparison of outcomes between various
approaches used in its delivery.

Other modalities such as the use of telephones and email are not
addressed in this document.

An evidence-based compendium of empirical research was first established
and used as the basis for the guidelines.

Both the evidence-based document and practice guidelines were developed
by panels composed of experts from the field, representatives from
relevant medical societies and other strategic stakeholders.

The guidelines and standards generated by ATA have undergone a thorough
consensus, a period of public comment and rigorous review, with final
approval by the ATA Board of Directors.

The guidelines as well as the evidence-based document are available at
no charge on the ATA website at
<http://www.americantelemed.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageID=3311>

The American Telemedicine Association is the leading resource and
advocate promoting access to medical care for consumers and health
professionals via telecommunications technology.

ATA brings together diverse groups from traditional medicine, academic
medical centers, technology and telecommunications companies, medical
societies, government and others to overcome barriers to the advancement
of telemedicine.

ATA was established in 1993 as a non-profit organization and
headquartered in Washington, DC. <http://www.americantelemed.org>