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Recent Advances in Delivering Mental Health Treatment via Video to Home

  • Psychiatry in the Digital Age (J Shore, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose of Review

Telemental health has rapidly evolved as technology and policy advances have allowed new and innovative approaches, including the remote delivery of services directly to patients’ homes. This review examined the literature on video to home (VTH) delivery of mental health services to synthesize information regarding (1) the comparative clinical effectiveness of VTH to in-person mental health treatment, (2) impact of VTH on treatment adherence, (3) patient and provider satisfaction with VTH, (4) cost effectiveness of VTH, and (5) clinical considerations for VTH use.

Recent Findings

Clinical effectiveness, treatment adherence, and patient satisfaction outcomes are comparable for VTH and in-person delivery of psychotherapy and psychiatric consultation services. Clinical applications for VTH have expanded in an effort to provide mental health care to difficult to reach, underserved populations. VTH is less costly than in-person care when assuming that patients could employ existing personal technologies.

Summary

VTH delivery offers a safe and effective option for increasing access to mental health care for patients who face logistical and stigma-related barriers to receiving in-person treatment. VTH should be routinely offered to patients as an option for receiving care, maximizing patient choice, and coordination of care.

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Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major Importance

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a grant from the VA Office of Rural Health, N16-FY15Q1-S1-P01392 (4440), to Jan Lindsay, the Department of Veterans Affairs South Central Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC), and the VA HSR&D Houston Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety (#CIN 13-413), Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, Houston, TX. The sponsors played no role in study design; in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; and in the decision to submit the article for publication. The views expressed reflect those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Department of Veterans Affairs, US government, or Baylor College of Medicine.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Houston VA HSR&D Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center (MEDVAMC 152), 2002 Holcombe Blvd, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Terri L. Fletcher, Julianna B. Hogan, Fallon Keegan, Miryam Wassef, Stephanie Day & Jan A. Lindsay

  2. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Terri L. Fletcher, Julianna B. Hogan, Fallon Keegan, Michelle L. Davis, Miryam Wassef, Stephanie Day & Jan A. Lindsay

  3. South Central Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center (a virtual center), Houston, TX, USA

    Terri L. Fletcher, Julianna B. Hogan, Miryam Wassef, Stephanie Day & Jan A. Lindsay

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  1. Terri L. Fletcher
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  2. Julianna B. Hogan
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  3. Fallon Keegan
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  7. Jan A. Lindsay
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Correspondence to Terri L. Fletcher.

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Conflict of Interest

Terri L. Fletcher, Julianna B. Hogan, Fallon Keegan, Michelle L. Davis, Miryam Wassef, Stephanie Day, and Jan A. Lindsay each declare no potential conflicts of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Psychiatry in the Digital Age

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Fletcher, T.L., Hogan, J.B., Keegan, F. et al. Recent Advances in Delivering Mental Health Treatment via Video to Home. Curr Psychiatry Rep 20, 56 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-018-0922-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-018-0922-y

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