How telehealth is revolutionizing health care
Jul 21, 2024, 7:00 AM | Updated: Jul 23, 2024, 2:17 pm
Telehealth has been around for decades, especially in rural and frontier communities. It has become a helpful resource that has helped improved people’s access to mental health care services. (Canva)
(Canva)
SALT LAKE CITY – While telehealth services were more commonly utilized during the pandemic, it seems like the telehealth era is just beginning.
In the latest Let’s Get Moving with Maria podcast episode, Maria Shilaos spoke with CAPT Heather Dimeris, Director for the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth (OAT) in HRSA, to learn how the new developments in telehealth are improving the way health care is being provided to patients nationwide.
Telehealth has been around for decades, especially in rural and frontier communities. It has become a helpful resource that has helped improved people’s access to mental health care services.
According to Dimeris, over half of the mental health care appointments are now done online. One reason why is because there are different health outcomes that come from in-person appointments versus telehealth appointments.
Another reason why is because there is still a stigma around seeking mental health services. Walking into a clinic for a behavioral health appointment isn’t always easy to do.
“By having a telebehavioral health appointment, it removes that barrier and that stigma… They can have an appointment with a therapist within the comfort of their own home… and really step through a door they might not have otherwise done if they had to go to an in-person appointment,” Dimeris said.
If you are a patient who wants to learn more about telebehavioral health services, you can find more information here.
If you are a health care provider who wants to learn how to incorporate telehealth into your practice, you can find more information here.
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Read more stories about mental health from KSL NewsRadio.
