The e-Mental Health Consultation Service: providing enhanced primary-care mental health services through telemedicine.
This article describes the University of California, Davis Medical Center eMental Health Consultation Service, a program designed to integrate tele-mental health clinical services, provider-to-provider consultation, and provider distance education. During the first year of operation, consultations were provided for 289 cases. The most common diagnoses among children were for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder-spectrum problems. Among the adult patients, mood disorders were most common. A convenience sample of 33 adult patients who completed the SF-12 health status measure showed significant improvements in mental health status at 3-6 months of follow-up. This model of comprehensive rural outpatient primary mental health care delivered at a distance shows promise for wider application and deserves further study.
Neufeld
Jonathan D
JD
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis Medical Center, 2230 Stockton Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95817, USA.
Yellowlees
Peter M
PM
Hilty
Donald M
DM
Cobb
Hattie
H
Bourgeois
James A
JA
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000379:methods; D019114:Remote Consultation / Q000379:methods; D012424:Rural Population; D017216:Telemedicine