Soldiers who lack access to mental health care providers because they are too far away from each other could one day speak to a doctor on a screen in the palm of the hand or inside a converted shipping container.
Researchers with the National Center for Telemedicine and Telehealth are exploring how smart phones and cargo containers equipped with two-way video technology can link soldiers to care across long distances. Tests are underway for smart phones, and the first converted cargo container is already in use.
“We at T2 continue to focus on expanding access to care to our service members, veterans and families, and one of the ways is through two-way audio-visual interactions,” said Matt Mishkind, chief of T2’s clinical telehealth division. “Our big focus is to make sure we get care to people anywhere it’s needed, anytime that it’s needed, that it’s as close to patients as possible in places where people feel comfortable receiving the care.”
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“It’s hard to get more comfortable than the palm of your hand,” he said. “You can have health care delivery 24/7, and that’s where we see the future of mental health care going.”
Mishkind said the Army has been particularly receptive to working this application of two-way video conferencing, both for using the Transportable Telehealth Unit for mass post-deployment screenings and for avoiding the expense of transporting providers.
Source : Army Times