Telemental Health ‘Effective’ For Treating Veterans With Depression

A new study from the Medical University of South Carolina and the Ralph H Johnson VA Medical Center has found that telehealth interventions could help veterans with depression.
The research revealed that telemental health is well received by patients and can deliver as good a quality of life as visits in person by healthcare practitioners. Given that just 56 per cent of people with depression will choose to seek treatment, perhaps offering them telemedicine interventions could prove to be more beneficial for them and encourage them to try and treat their condition.
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Barriers to treatment were found to be transportation costs, mobility concerns, being isolated geographically, the fear of stigma and missing days of work… all of which could be combated by the use of telemedicine and technology.In this study, treatment sessions were delivered using videoconferencing capabilities at the patient’s home via a standard telephone line and without the need for an internet connection. This could well be a really effective way of addressing the mental health needs of people in rural areas, especially elderly patients.
Dr Leonard Egede said: “It is time for telemental health to take its rightful place alongside in-person counselling as a viable option for depression care, one that will remove many barriers to care.”
This is one of the key benefits to telemedicine and advancements like cloud medical image storage. It can be difficult for people to access their own medical health information and images when required, and it can be just as hard for these to be passed on to medical experts.
Use of CDs is still commonplace for sharing images between trusts and doctors, and these can easily be damaged or lost, which can have a huge impact on patient outcomes. To find out more about how you could benefit from using the cloud in your organisation, get in touch with us at CIMAR today.