Page 33 - Telemedicine - Essentials of Virtual Care Delivery Part One

SVMIC Telemedicine: Essentials of Virtual Care Delivery

Telepsychiatry and Behavioral Health

The provider’s physical presence is less critical than his or

her expertise for managing many issues in behavioral health.
Shortages of services and lack of access to specialists

impacts nearly every aspect of behavioral medicine, from the
most basic screening and triage, to complex interventions.

One telepsychiatry vendor claims that 57 percent of patients
presenting to the ED with a behavioral health problem leave

the facility without treatment. Tele-behavioral health creates
15
access where it was unavailable before, stretches resources

efficiently, and is highly acceptable to patients.

Limited English Proficiency and Hearing Impaired

Teletypewriter (TTY) services for deaf and hard of hearing
16
patients have been available for decades; but a quantum leap
in effectiveness can be provided by an expert sign language

interpreter participating via video conferencing. This identical
format can also be used for foreign language translation. The

Affordable Care Act specifies standards for video remote
interpretation services:
17

A covered entity that provides a qualified interpreter for an
individual with limited English proficiency through video

remote interpreting services in the covered entity’s health

programs and activities shall provide:

15 Avizia. 2018. Tele-behavioral health: reducing the mental health burden on emergency
departments. https://www.avizia.com/clinical-use-cases/behavioral-health [7/16/18]
16 Teletypewriter, developed in the 1960s, transmits text characters to special terminals over
phone lines.
17 45 CFR Part 92 Nondiscrimination in Health Programs and Activities; Final Rule. Federal
Register Vol. 81, No. 96 Wednesday, May 18, 2016, p. 31470

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