Telemedicine journal and e-health : the official journal of the American Telemedicine Association
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Comparative Study
Telemental health evaluations enhance access and efficiency in a critical access hospital emergency department.
Mentally ill patients in crisis presenting to critical access hospital emergency rooms often face exorbitant wait times to be evaluated by a trained mental health provider. Patients may be discharged from the hospital before receiving an evaluation or boarded in a hospital bed for observation, reducing quality and increasing costs. This study examined the effectiveness of an emergency telemental health evaluation service implemented in a rural hospital emergency room. ⋯ Telemedicine appears to be an effective intervention for mentally ill patients by providing more timely access to mental health evaluations in rural hospital emergency departments.