A description of telemental health services provided by the Veterans Health Administration in 2006-2010.

Deen TL, Godleski L, Fortney JC. A description of telemental health services provided by the Veterans Health Administration in 2006-2010. Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.). 2012 Nov 1; 63(11):1131-3.

Dimensions for VA is a web-based tool available to VA staff that enables detailed searches of published research and research projects.

If you have VA-Intranet access, click here for more information vaww.hsrd.research.va.gov/dimensions/

VA staff not currently on the VA network can access Dimensions by registering for an account using their VA email address.    Search Dimensions for VA for this citation
* Don't have VA-internal network access or a VA email address? Try searching the free-to-the-public version of Dimensions

Search for Abstract from PubMed

---

Abstract:

OBJECTIVE: This is the first large-scale study to describe the types of telemental health services provided by the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). METHODS: The authors compiled national-level VHA administrative data for fiscal years 2006-2010 (October 1, 2005, to September 30, 2010). Telemental health encounters were identified by VHA and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs stop codes and categorized as medication management, individual psychotherapy with or without medication management, group psychotherapy, and diagnostic assessment. RESULTS: A total of 342,288 telemental health encounters were identified, and each type increased substantially across the five years. Telepsychotherapy with medication management was the fastest growing type of telemental health service. CONCLUSIONS: The use of videoconferencing technology has expanded beyond medication management alone to include telepsychotherapy services, including both individual and group psychotherapy, and diagnostic assessments. The increase in telemental health services is encouraging, given the large number of returning veterans living in rural areas.