ORLANDO, Fla. – When 12-year-old Xavier Davidson meets with his psychiatrist it's as easy as opening up his laptop. Vashaun Omar Williams, MD, Psychiatrist at Reaching Maximum Potential in Wesley Chapel, Florida's office is a three-hour round trip drive from Xavier's home, but a secure video conferencing line eliminates that distance with a few computer strokes.
"His behavior is way better and I think that's because he's been active in basketball," said Monique Davidson, Xavier's mother.
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Monique says managing her son's ADHD is so much easier now. She can often set up a same-day appointment.
"And that reason is because our practitioners can be anywhere, and our client can be anywhere," explained Anna Baznik, President/CEO of IMPOWER in Orlando.
Baznik heads the non-profit group that's setting up telepsychiatry throughout Florida. For people who live hours away from the nearest psychiatrist, this provides a lifeline.
"Some of our clients are Medicaid clients and transportation is an issue, missing work is an issue, taking kids out of school is an issue," she explained.
You may think the video sessions lack an important human touch, but Baznik says when it comes to treating children and teens, video-conferencing actually is more effective.
Baznik said, "Practitioners are getting much more information from the children because they're much more comfortable on I-phones and on social media so they're opening up more."
Another benefit of telepsychiatry: far fewer appointments are canceled. A study from East Carolina University showed only seven to 10% of telehealth appointments are cancelled…compared to 35 to 42% of office appointments.
Prescribing most medication can also be done through telepsychiatry because doctors can email or call into a patient's pharmacy. United healthcare, Oscar, WellPoint and some BlueCross BlueShield plans have also adopted telemedicine programs recently.