Category Archives: General
Orbit Health Telepsychiatry Sponsors National Commission on Correctional Healthcare Conference, Providing Free Registration for Mental Health Professionals
Correctional Health Professionals, including psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and others are invited to attend the NCCHC Virtual Spring Conference on April 27 and 28. Thanks to a sponsorship from Orbit Health, this two-day event is being offered free of charge to participants. Registration is required. “Healthcare professionals, especially those serving in correctional facilities, have… Read More »
Technology and Mental Health: How do we make sense of mental health apps?
Over the past decade, smartphones have become an integral part of our social and occupational environments. Medical professionals have transitioned from pocket PDAs to utilizing multiple applications (apps) downloaded onto smartphones. Recently, apps have been created to target almost all activities of daily living, from helping with finances and travel arrangements to improving one’s… Read More »
Can Early Intervention Prevent Incarceration?
Historically, few mental health resources were devoted to child development. Antisocial or delinquent behaviors were punished, including by way of juvenile detention, but the underlying causes of delinquent behavior were not properly investigated. In essence, society has been fine with treating the symptom, but not the cause. The result is an ever-increasing population of… Read More »
When Can a Psychiatrist Serve as an Expert Witness in a Case?
Expert witnesses are a regular and integral part of both criminal and civil litigation. Statistics indicate that litigants rely on expert testimony in over half of all criminal cases and much as 80% of all civil trials. Psychiatric experts, in particular, may be called to testify about matters including whether a party has the… Read More »
What if George Floyd Had Survived? — A Call to Action from our CEO to Reform the Criminal Justice System
If George Floyd had survived his encounter with the police, he would have been vulnerable to post-traumatic stress disorder from being exposed to the life-threatening trauma of a knee to his throat for more than 8 minutes. The police would have taken him to jail, where he would be exposed to further trauma from… Read More »
Videoconferencing Fatigue and What to Do About It
As the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic continues into its second year, people have become accustomed to handling most or all of their personal and professional interactions remotely. Videoconferencing has become a normal part of daily life. Videoconferencing fatigue, now commonly called “Zoom fatigue” in reference to one of the most popular videoconferencing platforms, refers to… Read More »
What Correctional Facilities Can Learn From The COVID19 Pandemic
The COVID19 pandemic was an unprecedented public health emergency that caused significant challenges to providing care to correctional facilities. Due to quarantine requirements and other necessary measure taken to prevent the spread of the pandemic, many facilities suddenly had a massive shortage of available mental health staff. Vital mental health services were interrupted, causing… Read More »
Optimizing Audio, Video, and Internet for your Telepsychiatry Appointment
Internet Speed: Anyone can test the bandwidth by going to websites like speedtest.net. Upload speeds of over 3mps are generally effective if there are not a whole lot of other programs running on the computer. However, it’s probably best to shoot for higher speeds and your internet service provider can give you options. If… Read More »
The Top 10 Barriers to Wider Adoption of Telepsychiatry
Although telepsychiatry has received a lot of attention in the last few years, this modality has been around for more than 60 years. As early as 1959, the Nebraska Psychiatric Institute was using early videoconferencing to provide group therapy, long-term therapy, consultation-liaison psychiatry, and medical student training at the Nebraska state hospital in Norfolk… Read More »
Are Psychotic Patients Appropriate For Telepsychiatry?
There is no absolute contraindication for telepsychiatry and virtually any mental health condition can be treated via telepsychiatry. Generally, the concerns about psychotic patients becoming more paranoid or distrustful with telepsychiatry are overblown. However, in rare cases, a patient may not be appropriate for telepsychiatry if they are truly fearful about a delusion that… Read More »