MHA Ventures Partners With InSight Telepsychiatry
Helena, MT (PRWEB) December 23, 2016 -- A new partnership between MHA Ventures and InSight Telepsychiatry will improve care options throughout communities in Montana. MHA Ventures (MHAV), the for-profit subsidiary of the Montana Hospital Association, works with successful healthcare organizations to help Montana become a “Top 10 Healthy State.” InSight has been endorsed by MHAV to help members of the association improve the mental health in the communities they serve through telepsychiatry.
Telepsychiatry is psychiatric care delivered through secure videoconferencing.
Members of the Montana Hospital Association provide the full spectrum of health care services, including hospital inpatient and outpatient, skilled nursing facility, home health, hospice, physician, assisted living, senior housing and insurance services.
Mental health is an important topic to address across the state as Montana has the highest suicide rate among any state in the United States at nearly twice the national average. Approximately 54 of 56 counties in Montana are designated as mental health professional shortage areas meaning those counties do not meet the criteria of having at least one mental health professional per 10,000 people. Psychiatrist providers are particularly hard to come by in Montana outside of the few cities.
“We are excited by this partnership’s ability to help bring care to Montana communities that have been struggling with acute needs for psychiatric care,” says Dr. Jim Varrell, Medical Director of InSight. “With on-demand telepsychiatry, hospitals can have access to psychiatrists who can make admission or treatment decisions within an hour on average. Other locations like clinics, primary care offices or correctional facilities, can also benefit from our scheduled telepsychiatry services. With telepsychiatry, psychiatry providers can offer care to anyone, anywhere as long as there is adequate internet connectivity.”
In addition to facility-based models of telepsychiatry, InSight is also working with the Montana chapter of Mental Health America to offer telemental health care to individuals in their home or other private spaces online.
InSight is already working with the Billings Clinic in Montana to provide on-demand, after-hours telepsychiatry services in the emergency department.
Telepsychiatry is an effective, cost-conscious and proven way to bring psychiatry providers, especially those with hard-to-find specialties, into areas where there may be a shortage like Montana rural and frontier land.
For nearly 30 years, MHAV has improved consumer care and reduce operating costs by tailoring flexible programs to fit the needs of each individual hospital.
InSight, the leading national telepsychiatry service provider organization, has over 17 years of industry experience, serves over 225 organizations across 26 states and has implemented telepsychiatry programs across the spectrum of care. Together, MHAV and InSight will work to improve the mental health of communities throughout Montana.
Olivia Boyce, InSight Telepsychiatry, http://www.insighttelepsychiatry.com/, +1 770.713.4161, [email protected]
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