With the development of modern technologies, the world is significantly changing. They influence all aspects of people’s lives ranging from politics to culture. Without any doubt, modern technologies affect healthcare as well. For example, they considerably increase quality, make patient care more accessible, and improve disease control. Telemedicine is also one of the numerous outcomes of modern technologies, which profoundly influence healthcare nowadays. The idea of staying in the comfort of one’s own home and receiving health consultations is appealing to many individuals. With the focus on telepsychiatry, after reviewing several articles, it becomes evident that it is likely to make a powerful impact on healthcare in the near future. However, many problems arise in the process of implementation. Nevertheless, telepsychiatry has been gradually affecting healthcare and has excellent potential to bring about many positive changes soon.
To begin with, telepsychiatry has proved to be useful for many patients, as well as healthcare workers. Hubley and his colleagues reviewed numerous studies and concluded that telepsychiatry is comparable to or even better than face-to-face services in terms of reliability of clinical assessment and treatment outcomes (2016). The scholars conducted extensive research; thus, its results are worth consideration. Despite a small number of patients and healthcare providers, who have experienced telepsychiatry on their own, their feedback is positive in most cases. It proves that its advantages undoubtedly outweigh its disadvantages. Even though millions of people claim that telemedicine is ineffective or even dangerous, the data suggests a different view. Therefore, it is essential to understand in what exact ways telepsychiatry influences healthcare.
Many studies present different ideas regarding how telepsychiatry makes a positive impact on patient care. First, it “represents a highly promising approach to reducing the treatment gap by making it easier for patients, especially those in isolated contexts, to access expert mental health care” (Hubley et al., 2016). Unfortunately, many people cannot access high-quality patient care because they may live in rural areas and have different disabilities, restricting their mobility. Hence, modern technologies play a crucial role in this situation by removing many barriers. Second, Wang and her colleagues analyzed much data and concluded that telemedicine, in many cases, reduces the patients’ waiting time (2019). Undoubtedly, it may be challenging to imagine how many people do not receive healthcare services because of being busy. It leads to adverse consequences, such as severe physical or mental problems. In contrast, telemedicine offers an opportunity to have medical consultations without time-consuming visits to healthcare facilities. Third, according to many studies, telepsychiatry is more cost-effective (Hubley et al., 2016). For example, psychiatrists and patients manage their time more effectively and are more productive.
Therefore, it is reasonable to claim that telepsychiatry positively influences medicine, but its impact is not as profound as it could be. Making healthcare more accessible, less time-consuming, and cheaper are significant advantages of telemedicine. However, there are numerous barriers, which prevent far-reaching consequences from occurring. For instance, “the concerns about establishing rapport, privacy, safety, and technology limitations have slowed acceptance of telepsychiatry” (Cowan et al., 2019). Besides, healthcare workers also face different issues regarding “reimbursement/financial, legal/regulatory, licensure/credentialing, and education/learning” (Cowan et al., 2019). Unfortunately, these problems restrict patients and medical staff. Nevertheless, the situation can be changed by the government and healthcare administration’s efforts, which are critical stakeholders in eliminating the issues, as neither patients nor nursesnord doctors can solve them. If telepsychiatry is better regulated, it will be morewidespreadd and, as a result, bring about more positive changes to healthcare. Hence, its implementation must be a priority for the stakeholders.
However, the claim that telepsychiatry has changed healthcare is unreasonable because it only has great potential to do so. Serhal and her colleagues gathered much data on implementing and utilizing telepsychiatry in Ontario, analyzed it, and concluded that only a small number of patients and psychiatrists use it even for post-hospital follow-up visits (Serhal, 2017). The reason for it is all the barriers mentioned before, which block the progress of telemedicine. However, the situation is different in every country, state, or community. According to Wang et al., hospitals can adjust the online and offline service capacities to achieve the best outcomes (2019). Undoubtedly, the mix of telepsychiatry and traditional psychiatry is the most effective way to reshape healthcare, which can benefit both patients and healthcare providers.
In conclusion, modern technologies have reshaped healthcare in numerous positive ways, and telemedicine is one of them. If people consider its advantages and disadvantages with the help of evidence-based data, it becomes evident that the former outweigh the latter. Telepsychiatry is an excellent example of how modern technologies influence healthcare by making it more accessible, less time-consuming, and cheaper. However, the possible far-reaching consequences are restricted by numerous problems, which can be solved by the healthcare administration and the government. Several regulation policies can create an opportunity for telepsychiatry to develop. In general, its impact is not as strong as it could be, though telepsychiatry has excellent potential to bring about positive changes soon.
References
Cowan, K. E., McKean, A. J., Gentry, M. T., & Hilty, D. M. (2019). Barriers to the use of telepsychiatry: Clinicians as gatekeepers. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 94(12), 2510-2523.
Hubley, S., Lynch, S. B., Schneck, C., Thomas, M., & Shore, J. (2016). Review of key telepsychiatry outcomes. World journal of psychiatry, 6(2), 269–282.
Serhal, E., Crawford, A., Cheng, J., & Kurdyak, P. (2017). Implementation utilizationtion of telepsychiatry in Ontario: A population-based study. Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie, 62(10), 716–725.
Wang, X., Zhang, Z., Zhao, J., & Shi, Y. (2019). Impact of telemedicine on healthcare service system considering patients’ choice. Discrete Dynamics in Nature and Society, 1-16.