Is Telehealth Better Than In-Person Visits for Mental Health?
Some patients notice that telehealth options make it easier to get continuous care. Furthermore, clinicians can use telehealth to connect to other members of a patient’s care team, including loved ones, teachers, and social workers. Each patient must decide for themselves what is the best type of appointment for them. Telehealth does offer some distinct benefits over in-person appointments.
Is Telehealth Effective for Mental Health Disorders?
Researchers have found that telehealth is at least as effective in treating mental health disorders as in-person appointments of the same types. Some studies have even shown that telehealth can be better for patients due to easier access and increased consistency.
Even with these promising studies, it’s important for patients to choose for themselves what types of appointments work best in their lives. That’s why we offer both in-person and online mental healthcare.
What Kind of Device Can I Use for Telehealth Visits?
If you have a desktop, laptop, smartphone, or tablet that was made in the past several years, you likely have the technology you need in order to attend telehealth visits with Psycare. The software that we use to connect with patients works on devices made by Amazon Fire, Windows, Google, Apple, and Android. Your device should run one of the following types of internet browsers:
- Safari
- Firefox
- Chrome
- Internet Browser
- IE Edge
- IE 11
If you’re not sure if your device will work, feel free to give us a call.
Do Insurance Plans Cover Telehealth Appointments?
More and more insurance providers have decided to cover telehealth visits in the same ways they cover in-office visits. So, if your insurance plan covers mental health appointments, it’s likely that your telehealth appointment will be covered as well.
However, the choice to cover telehealth appointments or not is ultimately up to each insurance provider. Psycare is happy to accept almost all major insurance plans and their telehealth coverage. If you plan to make a telehealth appointment, please contact your insurance provider to learn more about your particular policy.
Will I Be Able to Have Some In-Office Appointments?
Because Psycare offers both telehealth and in-person mental healthcare, we allow our patients to choose between these options as they choose fit. If you’re typically a telehealth patient and you want an in-person appointment for any reason, office staff can easily make that change for you.
Is My Information Safe with Telehealth Appointments?
We use secure, HIPAA-compliant software for every telehealth appointment. This software encrypts all data from the call, including visual and audio information. As with all appointments with our clinicians, you can expect your health information to be confidential when you book a telehealth appointment with Psycare.