Reuters Health: Tablets tied to better use of VA mental health services
A new cohort study reports video-enabled tablets were associated with increased use of mental health services and less suicide behavior and emergency department (ED) visits for rural U.S. veterans with a history of mental health visits.
Veterans were 20% less likely to have an ED visit, 36% less likely to have a suicide-related ED visit and 22% less likely to engage in suicide behavior after receiving the tablets to engage in telehealth visits, according to the study.
Kate Chard, PhD, University of Cincinnati professor of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience and director of PTSD programs at the Cincinnati VA, reviewed the study for a Reuters Health article. She said the study provides "compelling evidence that the use of electronic devices improves access to care and care utilization."
"The only concerns would be ensuring that patients and providers were adequately trained in the use of the devices for visits and that there was Wi-Fi bandwidth in the patient's location," Chard continued. "Although COVID may have initiated the use of electronic care, this study provides strong evidence that this practice should strongly be considered as an ongoing option for many patients."
Read the Reuters Health article.
Featured photo at top courtesy of Unsplash.
Related Stories
New effort aims to keep unsold clothing donations out of the...
November 13, 2024
WVXU hosts leadership from Ohio Valley Goodwill Industries and UC fashion design student Wesley Beisel to speak to how donated items contribute to sustainable living. Beisel is the student lead of the Sustainable Fashion Initiative (SSI) which originated at UC.
The long and complicated — and expensive — effort to replace...
November 13, 2024
Cincinnati's public water utility is on a years-long effort to replace its lead service lines, guided by a model designed by Christopher Auffrey, a professor of planning at DAAP. The EPA has just ramped up the deadline for replacements across the U.S. and professor and city officials discussed the undertaking on NPR's "All Things Considered."
Could body roundness index replace BMI?
November 13, 2024
For decades, body mass index, or BMI, has been a widely used medical screening tool. But experts from the American Medical Association have pointed out some of the metric’s shortcomings. Now a recent paper published in JAMA Network Open reported that the body roundness index, or BRI, shows promise as a better predictor of mortality in adults.