Defending Telepsychiatry

Roxy Szeftel, M.D.Authors Info & Affiliations

Publication: Psychiatric Services

https://doi.org/10.1176/ps.50.2.267

To the Editor: I disagree with the pessimism expressed by Werner and Anderson in their article on telepsychiatry in the October 1998 issue. We began developing telemedicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles several years ago and are running a very successful and financially viable program. Several things differentiate our program from the one reported on:

•We provide a very specialized consultation, psychiatric evaluation of individuals with severe developmental disabilities. We do not see general psychiatric patients.

•We function as consultants, not as primary care providers. Our patients are followed up by local nonpsychiatrist physicians.

•Because of the number of people involved at both the Cedars-Sinai site and the local telesite, we use the consultations as an educational opportunity for the local treatment team as well as for our residents.

•Each clinic session is two hours long. Most relevant information is sent from the local site by priority mail beforehand, at $3 a package. Progress notes are faxed immediately. In follow-up visits, a group home progress note is provided before the session so time can be used maximally.

•We use a 32-inch screen TV, which permits an excellent direct evaluation and mental status examination.

•During the sessions, the patients at the local site are placed next to ancillary staff who know them well, facilitating optimum direct evaluation.

I do agree that general psychiatric direct care may not be feasible and that telepsychiatry may best be reserved for subspecialty consultation and education.

Footnote

Dr. Szeftel is director of child and adolescent psychiatry and director of the child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship training program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Psychiatric Services

Volume 50 • Number 2 • February 1999

Pages: 267

PubMed: 10030492

History

Published online: 1 February 1999

Published in print: February 1999

Authors

Details

Roxy Szeftel, M.D.

View all articles by this author

Metrics & Citations

Metrics

Citations

Export Citations

If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.

For more information or tips please see 'Downloading to a citation manager' in the Help menu.

Format	RIS (ProCite, Reference Manager) EndNote BibTex Medlars RefWorks
Direct importt
Citation style
Style

Copy to clipboard
Tips for downloading citations

View Options

View options

PDF/EPUB

View PDF/EPUB

Get Access

Login options

Already a subscriber? Access your subscription through your login credentials or your institution for full access to this article.

Personal login Institutional Login Open Athens login

Purchase Options

Purchase this article to access the full text.

PPV Articles - Psychiatric Services

Not a subscriber?

Subscribe Now / Learn More

PsychiatryOnline subscription options offer access to the DSM-5-TR^® library, books, journals, CME, and patient resources. This all-in-one virtual library provides psychiatrists and mental health professionals with key resources for diagnosis, treatment, research, and professional development.

Need more help? PsychiatryOnline Customer Service may be reached by emailing [email protected] or by calling 800-368-5777 (in the U.S.) or 703-907-7322 (outside the U.S.).

Defending Telepsychiatry

Footnote