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4 Questions to Ask Before Implementing Telepsychiatry in Your Facility

By: | Tags: , , , , , , | February 23rd, 2024

In an era where technology is revolutionizing healthcare, telepsychiatry has emerged as a valuable tool for mental health professionals and organizations. Many facilities across the country have recognized the benefits of TeleSpecialists’ TelePsychiatry program, which offers emergent and consult liaison services nationwide. Before committing to providing virtual psychiatric services, it’s essential to ask the right questions to determine if telepsychiatry is the right fit for your facility and teams’ needs. In this blog, we’ll explore some common questions to consider and highlight the benefits that our TelePsychiatry program can bring to your hospital.

 

Does My Facility Need Telepsychiatry Services?

Before leaping into telepsychiatry, it’s crucial to assess whether it aligns with your facility’s goals and the nature of your psychiatric practice. Consider the types of patients you treat, the services you provide, and the geographical reach of your current practice. Telepsychiatry is particularly beneficial for reaching underserved populations in remote areas or those facing mobility challenges. With our TelePsychiatry service providing emergent and consult liaison services across the country, you can confidently explore the potential alignment with your practice’s goals.

It’s also important to evaluate your facility’s existing mental health services and identify any gaps or challenges. With quality shortages sweeping the nation, telepsychiatry can be a powerful solution for facilities facing limitations with psychiatric professionals, extended waiting times, or difficulty providing timely care. It’s critical to assess the needs of your patient population and determine if virtual psychiatric consultations could enhance the overall mental health services offered at your facility.

Learn More about Our Telepsychiatry Services

 

Is Telepsychiatry Right for My Hospital?

Beyond individual suitability, consider the broader implications for your business or facility. Assess the organizational readiness for adopting telepsychiatry, including infrastructure, training, and compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. Understanding the impact on workflow, staff collaboration, and patient satisfaction will help you make an informed decision about integrating telepsychiatry into your practice. With our dedicated quality support staff, we offer assistance at every stage. Each facility is assigned a Quality Program Specialist (QPS) to aid in process improvement initiatives, ensuring top-performing results and providing ongoing support resources for your hospital.

 

What Level of Technical Support Will Be Provided?

Technical support is a critical aspect of successful telepsychiatry implementation. This includes training for staff, troubleshooting assistance, evaluating the compatibility across technologies, and ensuring the security and privacy of patient information. With our services, you can benefit from a comprehensive and trusted support system backed by our Joint Commission accreditation and ISO 9001:2015 certification, ensuring a secure, seamless, and effective telepsychiatry experience. The program also offers cart flexibility, utilizing existing equipment or guiding the selection of the most appropriate video platforms, and optimized regulatory compliance to reduce patient and facility risk, ultimately leading to reduced stress and worry.

 

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How Can Telepsychiatry Benefit My Hospital?

Increased patient access, reduced wait times, and improved patient outcomes are some of the notable benefits that telepsychiatry can bring to your hospital. Additionally, telepsychiatry can enhance the efficiency of psychiatric services, allowing for more flexible scheduling and broader reach without the constraints of physical location. Our TelePsychiatry program offers a detailed implementation process, ongoing scheduling support through our Rapid Response Center (RRC), and quality management collaboration to ensure the best outcomes. We’ll help your facility improve patient throughput, clinical outcomes, and patient satisfaction while reducing costs attributable to shorter lengths of stay.

 

A Partnership with Our TelePsychiatry Program Can Be the Solution

Our TelePsychiatry program stands ready to align with your facility’s goals, offering emergent and consult liaison services across the country. Whether addressing nursing shortages, enhancing patient access, or improving clinical outcomes, our program provides a detailed implementation process, ongoing support, and collaboration for quality management. Embrace the future of behavioral health care with confidence, as our program strives to alleviate stress and worry, allowing you to focus on providing optimal care for your patients.

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Nattasha Acevedo, MD

Dr. Acevedo received her medical degree from the Ponce School of Medicine in Puerto Rico and did her neurology residency at Montefiore Medical Center in New York. She went on to do a clinical neurophysiology fellowship at Emory School of Medicine in Atla nta, Georgia and then joined private practice in Fort Myers, Florida. She currently resides in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She likes running, paddle boarding and spending time with family.
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Bernadette Borte, MD

Dr. Borte received her medical degree from St. Matthew’s University School of Medicine in Grand Cayman. She completed her neurology residency at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City, Iowa. Her areas of interest include inpatient neurology and acute stroke. When not working, she enjoys spending time outdoors with her family. Dr. Borte joined the TeleSpecialist family in March of 2019.
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Mazen Almidani, MD

Dr. Almidani is board certified in pediatrics by the American Board of Pediatrics and board certified in epilepsy, as well as neurology with special  qualification in child neurology by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.  Dr. Almidani is happily married with 4 children. His oldest son has autism and his daughter has complicated seizures; both were a drive for him to become a neurologist. Dr. Almidani enjoys soccer, running and spending time with his family. He is very involved with his sons’ therapy and helping with daily challenges. He is double board certified in Pediatric and Adult Neurology and Epilepsy. He sees children and adults. He also participates in charities for children in Syria who may be underprivileged and/or affected by the war. Dr. Almidani joined TeleSpecialists in August 2020.
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Amanda Cheshire, MD

Dr. Cheshire received her medical degree from the University of Louisville School of Medicine in Louisville, Kentucky. She completed her neurology residency at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. She did a fellowship in neurophysiology at the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Dr. Cheshire is double board certified in neurology and clinical neurophysiology. She enjoys traveling, reading and music. She currently resides in Viera, Florida.  Dr. Cheshire joined TeleSpecialists in June 2019.
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Jessica Floyd, MD

Dr. Floyd completed her neurology residency at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida followed by fellowship training in clinical neurophysiology with focus in EEG and epilepsy at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina. She has particular interest in hospital neurology and patient education as well as the blossoming specialty of lifestyle medicine. She strives to take advantage of every encounter with patients and medical staff to empower them to do their own research into how daily thoughts, choices, and habits can add up to create greater and longer-lasting brain and neurologic health for ourselves and our loved ones. She lives in Florence, South Carolina with her awesome husband of 13 plus years and three beautiful children. She is an avid yogi, astrologer, and lover of food and all things neurology! Dr. Floyd joined the TeleSpecialist family in July 2017.
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Nancy Futrell, MD

Dr. Futrell received her medical degree from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. She also did her neurology residency at the University of Utah as well as a research fellowship in cerebral vascular disease at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Florida. She currently resides in Salt Lake City, Utah. She has authored 2 books and 50 peer reviewed papers. 
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Rebecca Jimenez-Sanders, MD

Dr. Jimenez Sanders received her undergraduate degree from Emory University, and her medical degree from the San Juan Bautista School of Medicine in Puerto Rico. She completed her neurology residency at the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida, where she also did a specialized headache medicine and facial pain fellowship. She currently resides in Tampa, Florida with her husband and her two daughters. She is also fluent in Spanish and Italian languages, and enjoys photography, baking, boating, and biking.
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Cory Lamar, MD

Dr. Lamar received his medical degree from Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee. He completed his internship and residency at Wake Forest Baptist Health in Winston Salem, North Carolina. Following residency, he completed a clinical fellowship in neurophysiology, with a concentration in epilepsy. He currently resides in Florida and enjoys outdoor activities.
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Clifford Meyers, MD

Dr. Meyers received his medical degree from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island and his MBA from the Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York. He completed his neurology residency at the University of Rochester, where he also did a neurophysiology fellowship. Dr. Meyers resides in Webster, New York with his wife and daughter. When not doing teleneurology, he enjoys playing sports with his wife and daughter.
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Tao Tong, MD

Dr. Tong received her medical degree from the University of Miami School of Medicine in Miami, Florida. She completed her neurology residency at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Florida, where she also did a neuromuscular/EMG fellowship.  She currently resides in College Station, Texas. Dr. Tong is married with two boys. She enjoys spending time with her family, traveling and reading.
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Shubhangi Chumble, MD

Dr. Chumble attended BJ Medical School. She is a board certified neurologist with a subspeciality interest in sleep medicine. Dr. Chumble did her residency at Howard University in Washington DC and has practiced neurology since 2001 in private and corporate settings. She lives in Melbourne, Florida and loves the sunshine state. Her hobbies include yoga, meditation, cooking , traveling and meeting new people. She also loves to do stained glass, pottery and painting. She joined TeleSpecialists in June 2019.
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