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Overview of Telepsychiatry in Geriatrics

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Geriatric Telepsychiatry

Abstract

As the American population continues to age, innovative methods of addressing healthcare needs are necessary. Mental illness is prevalent in geriatric patients including depressive, anxiety, and neurocognitive disorders. There is a shortage of specialty trained geriatric psychiatrists to meet the mental healthcare needs of older adults which can be further magnified for those patients residing in less populated areas. One way to meet this growing need is geriatric telepsychiatry. Telepsychiatry has the potential to not only increase access to mental healthcare for underserved older adults, but also decrease cost of providing care. The current literature demonstrates that geriatric telepsychiatry can be reliably utilized to diagnose and treat mood, anxiety, substance use disorders, and other psychiatric illnesses in older adults. It can be used to administer cognitive screening tools and neuropsychological testing. Furthermore, outcomes are equivalent to in-person care with regard to symptom improvement and treatment adherence. Patient and provider satisfaction is generally high even in geriatric populations. While some older adults may present challenges in utilizing telepsychiatry including vision, hearing, and cognitive impairment, measures can be successfully implemented to overcome these challenges.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Science, University of South Carolina, School of Medicine, Columbia, SC, USA

    Juliet Glover MD

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  1. Juliet Glover MD
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Correspondence to Juliet Glover MD .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Science, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, South Carolina, USA

    Shilpa Srinivasan

  2. Department of Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Science, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, South Carolina, USA

    Juliet Glover

  3. Department of Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Science, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, South Carolina, USA

    James G. Bouknight

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Glover, J. (2017). Overview of Telepsychiatry in Geriatrics. In: Srinivasan, S., Glover, J., Bouknight, J. (eds) Geriatric Telepsychiatry. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51491-8_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51491-8_2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-51489-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-51491-8

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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