The Covid-19 pandemic has changed many things and has brought a lot of stress, pain, and anxiety to people worldwide. Due to so many lockdowns, people had to adapt, and remote working became something normal. Even before the pandemic, there were many remote areas where people had difficulty finding a health care provider or access to amenities you would find in a big city. A study found that telepsychiatry effectively treats bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress in remote areas or rural communities that face a shortage of health professionals.
Teletherapy; one of the benefits of modernity
Due to a lack of therapists and other providers in rural or remote communities, one way to access therapy is through online sessions. Teletherapy is a successful tool to heal patients from rural clinics and other remote areas. A five-year study compared teleintegrated care and telereferral care for treating patients with psychiatric disorders. The patients had bipolar disorder or PTSD. The data showed that teletherapy is a great way to provide patients from remote areas with the care and services they need and improve their life quality.
The study used more than 1,000 participants from 24 federal qualified health centers in Washington, Arkansas, and Michigan, in the U.S. Before telepsychiatry, many patients did not receive the help they needed to recover from their psychiatric disorders. Both video approaches analyzed in the study allowed patients to receive the help they needed without traveling to bigger cities. The patient experienced significant improvements, and no differences were found between the two types of video therapies.
The study shows that teletherapy could be a good solution during a pandemic when there is a shortage of health care providers and patients from remote areas.
