I need to respond to my classmates posting below. APA format, 2 simple paragraphs, 5-7 sentences each paragraph. at least 2 references no more than 5 years old. You can use the same two references if you want. I just need to respond to my classmates posting below for participation points. Its due today at midnight.

My classmates response below:

Current Information and Communication Technologies

My state operated psychiatric facility recently began providing telehealth/telepsychiatry service to connect our facility, other state operated facilities and community providers in support of improved coordination and patient care. Telehealth refers to a wide range of health services that are delivered by telecommunications ready tools, such as the telephone, videophone and computer (McGonigle, & Mastrian, 2015, p. 315). At this time, telehealth/telepsychiatry service are only offered to our forensic patients whose psychiatric symptoms have been stabilized, are no longer considered to be a danger, and are working towards conditional release.

Impact of Telepsychiatry

The greatest promise of telepsychiatry is providing a feasible alternative for the existing and grossly scarce mental health services (Malhotra, Chakrabarti, & Shah, 2013, p. 4). The health systems around the world are grappling with huge numbers of persons with mental disorders who require professional care and extremely small numbers of mental health care providers (Malhotra, Chakrabarti, & Shah, 2013, p.4). Using telemedicine in the field of psychiatry has the potential to be both cost effective and structurally efficient due to the diminished fixed costs necessary for everyday operation (Deslich, Stec, Tomblin, & Coustasse, 2013). It allows psychologists and other team members to support clients at variant times and between visits. Remote monitoring of patients has allowed practitioners to check in with their patients more often because of the increased ease of observation and reduce community provider (case manager and social workers) travel time while increasing overall efficiency. Furthermore, telehealth provides an opportunity for engagement with the patient, offers better coordination to support treatment and discharge plans, and promotes individual recovery.

Barriers of Telepsychiatry

While telepsychiatry has been shown to be beneficial, this technology does have some limitations. The major challenges in the use of telehealth/telepsychiatry applications have been legal and ethical matters such as duty of care, role in emergency situations, privacy and confidentiality, and security of data (Malhotra, Chakrabarti, & Shah, 2013, p.8). Online privacy is a concern of anyone using the internet. Fear of noncompliance with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and other regulations has dissuaded many organizations from adopting the practice of telehealth services. As a result, my facility only conducts telehealth events through the Ohio University College of Medicine (OUCOM) system. This system is a secure, encrypted video conferencing platform that has met specific security criteria. In addition, all employees continue to be required to adhere to all other confidentiality and security policies during all treatment sessions, including those that occur through telehealth. Community providers are considered Covered Entities (CEs) under the HIPAA requirements and are responsible for maintaining all patient/client information in a secure and confidential manner.

Wider implementations of telehealth/ telepsychiatry services will come as advances in device encryption and video create new possibilities for HIPAA compliant distance counseling. More video companies are now designed to meet federal government standards for privacy and security.

References

Deslich, S., Stec, B., Tomblin, S., & Coustasse, A. (2013). Telepsychiatry in the 21st Century:

Transforming Healthcare with Technology. Perspectives in Health Information

Management / AHIMA, American Health Information Management Association,

10(Summer), 1f.

Malhotra, S., Chakrabarti, S., & Shah, R. (2013). Telepsychiatry: Promise, potential, and

challenges. Indian Journal Of Psychiatry, 55(1), 3. doi:10.4103/0019-5545.105499

McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2015). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge

(3rd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett Learning.