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Telepsychiatry for Child Services
While InSight does not advocate that telepsychiatry could or should take the place of high quality onsite psychiatric services, the research on telepsychiatry with children has shown some very interesting results in the ability of telepsychiatry to effectively build a rapport and rapidly engage children. InSight’s own experience has echoed this finding, and this medium of delivering psychiatric services has proven to be particularly effective in light of this demographic’s tendency to gravitate toward technology.
Some literature has gone so far as to assert that for certain children and adolescents, telepsychiatry, as a consultation process, might actually be a superior method of psychiatric assessment to face-to-face consultation.
 Four factors stand out supporting this view:
• The novelty of the consultation
• The capacity to provide direction
• The extra distance involved (both psychological and physical)
• The authenticity of the interaction
Typical Equipment Setup
Most children’s programs will benefit from a dedicated videoconferencing unit that is hardwired into a designated telemedicine office or small conference room. These systems are often more affordable than the mobile systems used by hospitals and will typically include a camera mounted atop a mid-sized monitor that may be remotely controlled by the telepsychiatrist. While a staff member will need to activate the equipment and facilitate an introduction between the consumer and the remote clinician, it is normally not necessary for that staff member to remain in the room during an encounter.
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