Introducing a New Service: Removing Barriers Through Technology

Our primary mission at the PTI is putting people first and removing every barrier to delivering the best mental health care.  If there’s something that we can do to better deliver our mission then we’re all about it.

That’s why we’re introducing a new service for our established patients: tele-psychiatry.  Simply put, tele-psychiatry is a service that uses technology, such as video conferencing to connect a patient with a psychiatrist.  Telepsychiatry improves access to mental health care, contains and in some cases reduces costs, improves the quality of care, and fulfills patient demand in this emerging service.

At first, it might seem weird or strange to think of video-chatting with your doctor, however, it is a fast-growing specialty within the medical field as a whole and is delivering stunning results.  What if you could Skype with your psychiatrist from the comfort of your own home or at work when it was time for a refill rather than going into the office?  Then you can pick up your prescription and get on with your day.  Medication management just got easier, not just for us, but for your too.  If we can do our job better and more efficiently, then we can give each person better service.

One of the keys to good medical practice is using the least intrusive treatment in order to disrupt the patient and their lifestyle as little as possible.  Overall, this method delivers the best possible results with a minimal amount of recovery time, regardless of the nature of the affliction.  Our goal in putting the patient at the center of our mission is so that you can do the things that are important to you without us getting in the way.

That’s one less appointment to go to.  Less paperwork and bureaucracy.  Less sitting in a doctor’s office.  For our patients, it also means more privacy without losing the personal touch that makes the PTI difference.  At the end of the day we want to respect your time because you’re important to us.

Studies have shown that telepsychiatry services deliver the same, if not better outcomes, as in-person appointments.  It’s the same service as going into the office, just more convenient and more accessible to more people.  At the end of the day, that’s our hope, that we can deliver our mission better by giving more people the best health care possible.  Why do we do it?  Because our patients deserve the best!

Our next blog will focus on more of the nuts and bolts of our new telepsychiatry service and some of the more frequently asked questions regarding the service.