The future of healthcare is bright – especially mental healthcare.
Today more than ever, there are more tools and resources available to consumers to help with their mental health needs. From apps that help people practice mindfulness to permissive telepsychiatry legislation passing through, it’s an exciting time to be in the mental health space.
As we look towards the future of what mental healthcare will look like in the coming years, it’s easy to see why telepsychiatry will play a big role in it. Ten years ago, telepsychiatry was barely even a word. Now, it’s basically a movement. Whether clinics are practicing telepsychiatry internally or contracting with a vendor, it’s becoming more and more common.
When our company was first founded in 2013, we had to take a moment and explain what telepsychiatry was to anyone who worked in the mental healthcare space. Conversations would go something like this…
“What does Iris do?”
“Oh, we provide telepsychiatry services!”
“….Tele-what?”
“Telepsychiatry. It means our psychiatrists provide care to your patients through a video conferencing software.”
“And that’s allowed?!”
Then, we’d talk about legislation, answer some questions about technology, and teach them about the value of something like this. Now, when we attend conferences or trade shows and people look at our booth, the conversation is a little bit different. Usually, it’s more like this…
“Telepsych?! Wow, we need that!” or “Telepsychiatry, cool! We do that at our clinic.”
It’s easy to see why the future of mental healthcare is secure. Not only are people more aware of the options they have, like the ability to use telepsychiatry, but people are much more comfortable with technology than ever before. Telemedicine technology companies are popping up left and right, empowering healthcare organizations to deliver care in more innovative ways than they ever could have imagined.
Telepsychiatry is the future of mental healthcare, and there are many reasons why we believe this is the case.
- Mental healthcare is becoming more normalized, leading to a greater demand for it.
- There is a national shortage of psychiatrists.
- Fewer psychiatrists want to go to small towns to practice medicine now-a-days, so rural and underserved areas don’t have many other options.
- It’s easier to hire telepsychiatrists than in-person psychiatrists.
- Telepsychiatry is the best solution to provide care for people over a large area.
- Most patients are already comfortable with virtual healthcare options.
- Patients are becoming more and more comfortable with telemedicine every day.
- Technology is increasingly becoming a part of our daily lives, so it’s only natural that it’s intersecting with healthcare.
- Telemedicine technology becomes more intuitive every year.
- Millennials and Generation Z are more comfortable with technology, so they may actually prefer virtual care options rather than in-person care.
- Telehealth usage is growing faster than other types of care.
- There are already significantly more telepsychiatry companies today than the year we were founded (2013).
- Many medical schools have a telepsychiatry program, so young doctors are learning this right out of the gate.
- Telehealth legislation is becoming more permissive.
- Getting psychiatrists licensed in multiple states has become easier, allowing them to practice in several areas.
- States are developing more grants specifically designed for healthcare organizations to invest in telemedicine programs.
- People are actively working on ways to make direct-to-consumer telepsychiatry a real model for delivering mental healthcare.
Ten years ago, telepsychiatry barely existed. Now, it’s a movement. If telepsychiatry continues to grow this rapidly, who knows where we’ll be ten years from now?
About Iris Telehealth
Iris Telehealth is a telepsychiatry provider organization made up of the highest quality psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners. Our mission is to provide underserved communities with access to the best mental health specialists and prescribers. We are owned and operated by doctors who understand what patients need and have earned a reputation for providing outstanding customer service. Iris values building strong professional relationships with our partners and their staff. We are dedicated to understanding your organization’s needs and operational goals because we recognize that your success is critical to our own.
Iris Telehealth has helped countless hospitals and community health organizations across the country add telepsychiatry to their list of services. We believe everyone should have access to compassionate mental health care, and we have made it our mission to find innovative, affordable ways of making this possible!
