Patients can see therapist from comfort of home
Published studies report that about 25 percent of all U.S. adults have a mental illness and that nearly 50 percent of U.S. adults will develop at least one mental illness during their lifetime, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In Oklahoma, roughly a quarter of the population, or 940,000, struggles with mental health, substance abuse or both.
Oklahoma City-based A Chance to Change has launched a new telehealth program aimed at improving access to mental health care in Oklahoma. Funding for the program is being provided by the Oklahoma City Community Foundation.
“We thought about the telehealth program about a year and a half ago,” said Candice Hillenbrand, senior director of development and community engagement. “We currently have clients driving in from 20 Oklahoma counties where services are not readily available.
We have someone coming in from as far away as Woodward.”
Distance isn’t the only issue.
“We serve clients with child care issues or no work flexibility. But we want to give consistent care and quality care. They can be eye-to-eye within minutes as long as they have access to a computer,” she said.
Since telehealth only works through access to the internet through a smartphone, computer or tablet, ACTC is looking into how it can reach its clients who don’t have access to these technologies.
“We are working on software what will work on their phone. Not everyone has a computer, not everyone has a smartphone,” Hillenbrand said.
Part of the grant is to be spent on going out to communities and establishing a location that complies with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act regulations, where patients can access care in a private setting, Hillenbrand said.
“As long as they can get to those locations, they can receive counseling,” she said. “The data is safe and secure to maintain privacy.”
Behavioral and mental conditions can have a significant impact on physical health and such as unexplained pain, chronic physical deterioration. Government statistics in 2006 indicated mental disorders were one of the five most costly conditions in the United, with expenditures at $57.5 billion.
This coupled with proposed cuts to Medicaid is driving mental health professionals to see alternatives.
“One thing that we are seeing in Oklahoma cuts to Medicaid has eliminated the access to services. Through this technology we can serve those clients, as well,” Hillenbrand said.