JSA Health Telepsychiatry is pleased to be featured today in Computerworld Online. You can read the full article here.

Web-based counseling — Telepsychiatry — is taking off

More bandwidth, better security and emerging video technology are making telemedicine more acceptable to doctors, patients

By Lucas Mearian

February 9, 2012 06:18 AM ET

Computerworld - Dr. Avrim Fishkind, a psychiatrist in Houston, rarely sees any of his patients in person, and that’s the way they like it.

Fishkind is part of a fast growing movement in the mental healthcare field where therapists counsel patients via inexpensive, Web-based video conferencing technology.

“We’ve had just over 60,000 patient encounters. To my knowledge, only six have refused to be seen via teleconferencing,” he said. “When it comes to mental health issues and the difficult things you need to talk about in a crisis, a lot of patients feel it’s less threatening and easier to be open and communicate via telemedicine.”

Fishkind said telepsychiatry is limited only by insurance reimbursements. As more insurance companies start to reimburse for telepsychiatry treatments at the same rate as they do for in-person visits, the emerging medical field will grow exponentially.In many instances, telepsychiatry is a necessity, not just a convenience for doctors and patients. Patients are often located in regions with no private psychiatric practices or where hospitals don’t employ staff psychiatrists.

Telepsychiatry is also often used to treat prison inmates and nursing home patients.

“We’re tailor made for telemedicine because we don’t check people’s livers. We just talk. Besides radiology, you can’t imagine a medical discipline better adapted to telemedicine,” Fishkind said. “It’s so easy to implement, replicate and expand. That’s why it’s exploding so quickly.”

Telepsychiatry is also a perfect platform for expanding the use of electronic medical records to document patient information through physician notes.

Fishkind noted that as he counsels patients via video conferences, he simultaneously types notes on his laptop, which are added to the patient’s electronic records.

From the Hill County MHDD Centers website:

Providing mental health, developmental disability, substance abuse and early childhood intervention services throughout the greater Texas Hill Country.

Mission: “Promoting Independence, Community Integration, and Recovery.”

Values:

We are responsible first and foremost to the people we serve.

We treat all people with respect and dignity.

We foster an environment of integrity and trust.

Responsible and creative use of resources allows us to provide the most effective and efficient services possible.

We value personal uniqueness and acknowledge that people share needs, rights, desires, and capabilities.

We understand our responsibility to educate people and maximize learning opportunities.

With information and support, people have the opportunity to make informed personal choices and become more self-reliant.

We recognize the importance of, and foster, family involvement in peoples’ lives.

We operate in partnership with the community, appreciating its uniqueness and strength.

We strive for excellence, using continuous quality improvement.

Quality is linked to customer satisfaction – both ultimately measured by our ability to meet the individual requirements of people we serve.

For more information on Hill Country MHDD Centers click here.

Current Psychiatry…one of our favorite publication here at JSA Health, mentions JSA Health. From the article:

Dear Dr. Mossman:I practice in a region with few psychiatrists and very little public transportation. For many patients, coming to my office is inconvenient, expensive, or time-consuming. Sometimes, their emotional problems make it hard for them to travel, and sometimes, bad weather makes travel difficult. I am considering providing remote treatment via Skype. Is this a reasonable idea? What are the risks of using this technology in my practice?Submitted by “Dr. A”

Diagnosing and treating patients without a face-to-face encounter is not new. Doctors have provided “remote treatment” since shortly after telephones were invented.1 Until recently, however, forensic psychiatrists advised colleagues not to diagnose patients or start treatment based on phone contact alone.2The Internet has revolutionized our attitudes about many things. Communication technologies that seemed miraculous a generation ago have become commonplace and have transformed standards for ordinary and “acceptable” human contact. A quick Internet search of “telephone psychotherapy” turns up hundreds of mental health professionals who offer remote treatment services to patients via computers and Web cams. Physicians in many specialties practice telemedicine, often with the support and encouragement of state governments and third-party payers. To decide whether to include telepsychiatry in your psychiatric practice, you should know:• what “telemedicine” means and includes • the possible advantages of offering remote health care• potential risks and ambiguity about legal matters.

Access the full article here.

JSA Health Telepsychiatry is pleased to announce an agreement with Holland America Line to provide on demand psychiatric consultation to crew aboard cruise ships throughout the world. JSA Health will be doing psychiatric evaluations aboard 15 ships beginning December 18, 2011. This is a remarkable opportunity to further the medical field of cruise ship medicine supported by the American College of Emergency Physicians.

From the Holland Amereica Line Website:

With 137 years of experience, Holland America Line is recognized as the undisputed leader in the cruise industry’s premium segment. Holland America Line’s fleet of 15 ships offers more than 500 cruises to 350 ports in more than 100 countries, territories or dependencies. Two- to 110-day itineraries visit all seven continents and highlights include Antarctica, South America, Australia/New Zealand and Asia voyages; a Grand World Voyage; and popular sailings to ports in the Caribbean, Bermuda, Alaska, Mexico, Canada/New England, Europe and Panama Canal.

As part of its social responsibility initiative, the leading premium cruise line contributes over a million dollars each year in cash, in-kind shipboard events and useable goods to a broad range of charitable organizations nationally and internationally. Additionally, the line provides over 2,000 reduced-fare cruises annually to support charitable fundraising events throughout the United States and Canada. The innovative On Deck for the Cure program has raised more than $2 million in donations to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Over the course of the company’s long history Holland America Line has carried more than 11 million passengers from Europe to the New World and to vacation destinations across the globe.

Providing Passage to the New World

Holland America Line was founded in 1873 as the Netherlands-America Steamship Company (NASM), a shipping and passenger line. Because it was headquartered in Rotterdam and provided service to the Americas, it became known as Holland America Line. The company’s first ocean liner was the Rotterdam, which sailed its maiden voyage from the Netherlands to New York City on Oct. 15, 1872. The one-way voyage took 15 days. Following that first voyage, Holland America Line has seen a series of benchmark moments in its history.

By its 25th anniversary, Holland America Line owned a fleet of six cargo and passenger ships, and also provided service between Holland and the Dutch East Indies via the newly constructed Suez Canal.

The line was a principal carrier of immigrants from Europe to the United States until well after the turn of the century, carrying 850,000 to new lives in the New World.

In 1895, the company offered its first vacation cruise; its second leisure cruise, from New York to the Holy Land, was in 1910.

In 1971, Holland America Line suspended its transatlantic passenger trade and turned to offering cruise vacations full time.

In 1989, Holland America Line Inc. became a wholly owned subsidiary of Carnival Corp., the largest cruise company in the world.

Compelling Worldwide Itineraries

Holland America Line’s fleet of 15 ships offers nearly 500 cruises to more than 320 ports. Two- to 108-day itineraries visit all seven continents, including Antarctica, South America, Australia/New Zealand and Asia voyages; a Grand World Voyage; and popular sailings to ports in the Caribbean, Alaska, Mexico, Canada/New England, Europe and Panama Canal.In the 2006 Portrait of Affluent Travelers survey by Yesawich, Pepperdine, Brown and Russell, Holland America Line topped the list of cruise lines sought after by affluent leisure travelers. Fleetwide, the company features Signature of Excellence enhancements, totaling more than $525 million, that showcase the Culinary Arts Center presented by Food & Wine magazine — a state-of-the-art onboard show kitchen where more than 60 celebrated guest chefs and experts provide cooking demonstrations and classes — Explorations Café powered by The New York Times, teens-only activity areas and all new stateroom amenities highlighted by flat-panel TVs and plush Euro-top Mariner’s Dream Beds.

With an ongoing commitment, the premium line continues to focus on product enhancements in accommodations, service, dining, itinerary development and enrichment programs and activities. Examples include As You Wish dining for open seating, a new Culinary Arts Center program for kids, and the expansion of shore activities to include private touring options in port.

JSA Health Telepsychiatry: Psychiatrists On Site and On Demand

JSA Health Telepsychiatry is Featured in Computerworld Online