How will Telehealth Benefit Nursing Practice and Improve Psychiatric Patients’ Outcomes

 As non-compliance to treatment among psychiatric patients is devastating to patients’ health outcome, so it is to providers. That is, as the patients suffer, the providers as well feel overwhelmed from repeated patients’ relapse; increased complexity in achieving medication therapeutic levels and treatment goals; and poor revenue in spite available staff resources. Therefore, if full adoption of telehealth via patients’ personal smart phones occur, achieving treatment compliance would be less challenging, as the specific following benefits would aide compliance:

·         Easy access to care: Providers can reach patients without having to travel to facilities

·         Easy crisis management: Patients and providers can be reached at any time, at their comfort zone and on timely manner, irrespective of distance or location, in event of any psychiatric crisis, reducing psychiatric relapse, as opposed to restricted eight to five (8 :00 am -5:00 pm) schedule

·         Patients’ privacy and confidentiality: Patients would have their privacy with their providers due to use of personal smart phones, instead of a facility location where others are present

·         Increased patients’ autonomy: Patients would be more involved in decision making of their care, as they directly deal and communicate with providers without intermediary, or interruption of sessions

·         Decreased adverse events: Due to easy access to care, there would be decreased unusual events, like suicide episode, and serious treatment/medication adverse reaction

·         Decreased hospitalization cost: Easy patients’ access to psychiatric care would result in increase treatment compliance, reduce psychiatric relapse, and decrease hospital visits.

·         Increased providers’ revenue stream: As long as consumers are accessible through their respective smart phones, there would be decreased no-show billing, and increased revenue stream for providers.