Abstract

GARAY FERNANDEZ, Javier D  and  GOMEZ-RESTREPO, Carlos. Telepsychiatry: Innovating Mental Healthcare. A General Perspective. rev.colomb.psiquiatr. [online]. 2011, vol.40, n.3, pp.504-518. ISSN 0034-7450.

Introduction: Development and growth of the technological era require the exploration of new opportunities in health services. Telepsychiatry is a clear example of technology implemented in the solution of a specific problem, such as the provision of specialized mental health services in remote areas. Objective: To describe strengths and barriers related to new technologies, focusing on the applications of telepsychiatry on mental healthcare, and possible opportunities for implementation and application in our scenario. Methods: Review of the medical literature in Medline, The Cochrane Library Controlled Trial Registry databases, Lilacs y Scielo (until January 2011), using the term “telepsychiatry”. A total of 244 articles were identified. Articles were selected manually by title and availability if they discussed the advantages and disadvantages of telepsychiatry specifically, or technology in general. Development and Conclusions: Published data indicate that telepsychiatry and face to face treatments have comparable outcomes on different levels. Additionally, positive outcomes were found regarding costs and access in isolated places. In Colombia, there are legal and logistic opportunities to develop programs in this field.

Keywords : Telepsichiatry; telemedicine; mental healthcare; remote consultation; innovation.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )