Pediatric Telebehavioral Health: A Transformational Shift in Care Delivery in the Era of COVID-19.
Ujjwal P RamtekkarJeffrey A BridgeGlenn V ThomasEric M ButterJennifer ReeseErica LoganSimon Lin LinwoodDavid AxelsonPublished in: JMIR mental health (2020)
The use of telebehavioral health has been expanding in the past decade to improve access to psychiatric care and address critical shortages in the psychiatric workforce. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic forced a sudden shift from traditional in-person visits to alternative modalities. There are key factors associated with successful transitional and large-scale implementation of telehealth with existing resources. We describe the experience of a large health care system using telehealth technology, and we identify strategies and discuss considerations for long-term sustainability after the pandemic.