I knew I was going to get new doctor at mental health, but this one did it through a TV screen, through videoconferencing. It's called telepsychiatry, a form of telemedicine. I'd heard about this concept once, but never knew of any instances till now.
Here is a sample of telepsychiatry found on Youtube:
It was kind of weird, not being able to speak to the psychiatrist in person, as I had done with the previous one. And seeing myself on the TV screen was kind of strange as well. The department has has trouble keeping doctors on staff and now it seems this one might not be around any longer either. I don't have another appointment until the end of April. I knew that the previous doctor I'd seen was only working there temporarily, but I had seen him about six times since I began Prozac last August, so I got used to his clam demeanor. I last saw this one last month, and all month long I was anxious over meeting the new one, hoping I would like this one as well. Other clients who'd already seen the new doctor said he was nice. None of them mentioned he was doing the telepsychiatry thing though :-)
Once again, I'm getting anxious to see who the new doctor will be and have over a month to wait.
Has anyone else ever experienced any sort of telemedecine?
2 comments:
My sister has used telepsychiatry. I sit with her during her appointments. It works pretty much like an office visit except you are looking at the doctor through a computer screen. You don't see yourself but the doctor sees you on his or her screen. It is not as good as a face to face meeting but you do get all the body language and nuances of speaking to someone in person.
I hope you get a good new doctor. For my sister's treatment, that is one big aggravation is the turn over of doctors. However, one was particularly bad and I was so glad to see him gone the next time.
I remember thinking it was brilliant when I watched the first few episodes of Lisa Kudrow's series "Web Therapy." She's a therapist who does online consultations but she's a bit fruity! I also interviewed a yoga instructor who does one-on-one Skype sessions with her clients. It is the future. Unfortunately, telemedicine is under a lot of fire right now with state health boards because those old fogey doctors don't want to allow doctors to help patients across state lines. I think they'll get it worked out, but that is limiting other areas of telemedicine--like being able to Skype a doctor when you aren't feeling well rather than dragging your sick, contagious butt to his office!
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