Telemedicine is improving mental health treatment in America’s most remote corners

Mental health care can be difficult to access due to costs and stigma. It is even harder to reach if you live in a rural area. Meridian Health Services in Indiana is using technology to tackle mental health treatment via online remote psychiatry. An NPR article on Meridian Health’s new program notes the importance of timely mental health treatment: “Geographic isolation exacerbates a vicious cycle. A shortage of doctors means patients can’t get timely care. The health system atrophies, and doctor recruitment gets even tougher.”

The telemedicine system allows patients to meet at a medical office to have their vitals taken and then sit down at a computer with a psychiatric professional for a video conference therapy session. Meridian says the benefits are two-fold: it allows patients to have quick access to mental health treatment, and it allows Meridian to employ doctors even if they do not live in…
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