New study proves the efficacy of telepsychiatry for anxiety and depression

A strong therapeutic alliance can be created virtually – most critically, telepsychiatry helps patients feeling the serious effects of a mental health issue get better quickly, notes the CMO of the company behind the peer-reviewed research.

160 million Americans live in regions with mental health professional shortages. Many of these areas are rural, where driving to the nearest treatment option is unrealistic due to distance, or personal and professional obligations. Cost and access also are barriers to care, with a predicted shortage of 21,000 adult psychiatrists by 2030 making matters worse.

Telepsychiatry can be a lifeline to areas with few mental health options by increasing access to treatment. However, access does not equal quality, and subpar care could do more harm than good.

A new peer-reviewed study in the Journal of Medical Internet Research shows the efficacy of telepsychiatry for anxiety and depression care across regions. Rural areas with few mental health options showed comparable clinical outcomes to urban areas with many options, demonstrating virtual care’s power to positively impact those who cannot travel to an in-person session.

After an average of five appointments across 15 weeks, the study showed:

• 67% of patients no longer had clinically significant anxiety symptoms, and 62% no longer had clinically significant depression symptoms.
• 26% of patients with anxiety and 29% with depression achieved clinical remission of symptoms.

The study of 1,826 treatment-seeking patients, from Talkiatry, a national mental health practice that provides in-network psychiatry and therapy, set out to determine whether there was a clinically meaningful change.

Healthcare IT News sat down with Dr. Georgia Gaveras, cofounder and chief medical officer at Talkiatry, to discuss the findings of this study.

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