Are you planning to implement telehealth software or telemedicine software to streamline mental health services at your practice? Or maybe you’re a patient seeking to transition to telebehavioral services in lieu of traditional ones. Either way, this article will help you understand the basics of telehealth mental health services.
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If you want to learn more about telehealth for mental health on the patient side, use our roadmap below to jump to the patient section. If you’re a provider seeking more information, you can jump to the provider portion.
What This Article Covers
Importance
A few decades ago, telehealth in mental health care was a futuristic idea. Fast forward to today and telehealth is one of the major methods of mental health care delivery.
According to mental illness statistics from the National Institute of Mental Health, close to 1 in 5 adults in the U.S. have a mental illness.
Access to care is paramount to winning the battle against these diseases.
Integrating telehealth into various care settings has shown potential. From a mental health perspective, telehealth in rural areas can increase accessibility for everyday patients. Even outside of rural applications, it provides additional access to those with travel complications and or mental illnesses that make it difficult to be in public often.
But it’s not unknown that behavioral health care is currently understaffed. And according to the American Hospital Association, mental health care is underfunded and understaffed more than ever before.
While telehealth options alone won’t solve the ongoing mental health crisis and lack of staff and funding, it can help patients seek treatment outside of their immediate location when options are limited.
Telehealth connects patients directly to medical organizations capable of providing treatment through the internet. Local care providers can also use telehealth systems to ramp up mental health services.
Easier accessibility to medicine through telebehavioral appointments and e-prescribing can also help patients adhere to their care plans more seriously. This can improve recovery time and patient outcomes drastically.
Apart from accessibility, telehealth for mental health combats a long-standing societal issue — stigma. The negative outlook regarding mental health conditions is, at least in part, due to lack of awareness. With telehealth, patients can connect to therapists from their homes, avoiding discomfort and judgment from peers.
With telehealth video calling, therapists can reach patients anytime, anywhere. All patients need is a working internet connection and an internet-enabled device.
Patients
Telehealth is an all-around convenient solution for patients seeking mental health treatment remotely. It makes mental health care more accessible than ever before.
With video call connections and online clinic portals, you as a patient can get in touch with counselors and mental health specialists all over the U.S.
What To Expect
Telehealth appointments are usually straightforward. Providers use computers, laptops, HIPAA-compliant videoconferencing software and smartphones to connect with you. Mostly, you’ll have appointments via video calls. However, a simple voice call is also an option.
Telehealth for mental health and in general depends largely on Health IT for gathering patient medical information. You can update your medical files, lab reports and prescriptions in patient portals to ensure doctors and providers can access them easily.
You can prepare for your telebehavioral health visit by:
- Charging the laptop or smartphone you’ll be using for the appointment.
- Finding a space where you feel comfortable sharing and discussing with your provider.
- Checking your internet bandwidth and connection status before joining.
Services
Several behavioral services are available through telehealth, including:
- Group therapy
- Individual counseling
- Text therapy
- Substance abuse counseling
- Mental health screening
- Behavioral activation therapy
- Cognitive behavioral therapy
- Cognitive processing therapy
- Prolonged exposure therapy
- Medication-assisted treatment
This list isn’t exhaustive, but it gives you an idea of the many mental health treatment options available via telehealth today.
Privacy
Privacy is a major consideration in regards to feeling comfortable discussing with your mental health provider through telehealth channels. It might seem like a challenge to keep one-on-one appointments with therapists under wraps, but there are ways to protect your privacy.
According to the HIPAA Security Rule, care providers must keep patients’ sensitive medical information safe.
Telehealth platforms and telepsychiatry software come with additional security features to keep hackers away. Talk to your health care provider about their security arrangements to keep patient data safe. Agree to an online call only after you’re happy with the security protocols.
Rest assured, care providers do all they can to keep data safe from hackers.
Providers
Telebehavioral services can be an advantageous addition to traditional mental health services for both you and your patients. If you’re thinking of taking that step, check out some of the main considerations below, so you can prepare for the transition.
Starting Out
Telehealth for mental health has given rise to telepsychiatry services that mental care providers can opt for. It’s important to note here that mental health appointments don’t always require physical exams, so they’re often more conducive to online settings.
Integrating telehealth into your daily mental health services can provide better accessibility and allow patients to take an active step towards seeking treatment.
Adding Telebehavioral Services
Here are some key considerations to make before you start:
- Service Types: Which mental health issues are most common among patients? Setting up a proper care delivery method is paramount. Think of a flexible approach where patients can attend appointments online, in-person or both, depending on their preferences.
- Community: Think about your patient community. What challenges can telehealth help resolve for the people you serve? How can they benefit from virtual care?
- Budget: Telehealth systems can be pricey. Integrating telehealth into mental health care will take some initial investments. Plan a strategy to put money into the right solutions for better business growth.
- Training: Make sure you set aside time and resources for employee training. The new services and software aren’t worth it if you and your staff don’t know how to use them properly.
Laws
As telehealth is still at a nascent stage, regulations by HIPAA and medical governing bodies keep on changing and updating. It’s best to read about the current set of rules you need to abide by while providing mental health services online.
Make sure you consider your local telehealth laws — these include the national, state and city levels.
E-prescribing is another important legal consideration for your transition. Make sure you understand the specifics of prescribing controlled substances via telehealth, especially if e-prescribing isn’t something you do already.
Implementation Strategy
Providing virtual behavioral health care services requires meticulous planning:
- Create a Roadmap: In any business, the way to success is determined by a well-defined roadmap. Map out the services and their rollout time accordingly to manage appointments and clinical workflows efficiently.
- Prepare Your Employees: You need to get your employees on board with the new services — whether they’re admins or medical providers. Discuss the new services with them so they’re better prepared when it comes time for software training and service execution.
- Develop a Marketing Strategy: Find ways to strengthen communication channels with patients. Improve email and advertising campaigns to send a suitable message to potential and existing patients. Also, try to educate people against the existing stigma around mental health.
- Secure Funding: You’ll need funding for new software, if your existing systems don’t provide telehealth capabilities already. You can use our free telemedicine requirements templates to get an idea of which solutions meet your needs and how much they’ll cost you. From there, determine if you have the capital or need to seek outside benefactors.
- Select Software: Once you have an idea of what you need and the cost of some platforms that meet those requirements, all that’s left is to pick one. Okay, we know it’s not always that simple, so take a look at our Lean Selection methodology if you need further insight into choosing the best platform for your unique needs.
- Start Small: Keep the practice small at first. Carefully plan and execute services one after the other. If you find you have the client demand for telehealth mental health services, you can expand from there.
Billing
Providers looking to start delivering telehealth mental health services to patients must learn and abide by the laws and regulations in place for billing and reimbursements.
The U.S. government is expected to expand Medicaid coverage for telehealth and telemedicine, providing added Medicaid coverage to patients for their telebehavioral health treatments. For further information, check out the telehealth Medicaid policies.
Private insurance is also an available option for patient payments. Check with insurance providers you work with to see what coverage they offer and provide that information to patients. Read all about the reimbursement standards in your state to get a proper idea.
Preparing Patients
To save valuable time, provide useful tips to educate patients about virtual appointments. Patients need to know what to expect from the video call.
Today, almost everyone uses video calls on their mobile devices and laptops. Therefore, asking them to join a video call appointment shouldn’t cause issues.
You can also send instructional materials to patients to give them a proper understanding of telehealth, its benefits and what to expect from the call. This will help them prepare questions beforehand.
Furthermore, provide additional details about your telehealth platform and the software in use for file transfers.
Next Steps
Telehealth mental health services are growing at a rapid pace. Mental health care providers, counselors and therapists are opting for remote service today. Listening to a patient through a virtual call can be essential in emergency situations.
On the other hand, patients looking to receive care for mental health conditions can just pick up the call and get in touch with a professional. Though in-person visits are still very prevalent, telehealth offers additional opportunities to make appointments flexible.
Are you looking to add telehealth to your medical services? Look at our detailed, free comparison report to get an idea about the leaders in the field. It can help you make side-by-side comparisons of products to see how they stack up against each other in terms of features, benefits, cost and more.
What else should someone consider before implementing or receiving telehealth mental health services? Leave comments below.