Hybrid Telepsychiatry: A United States Perspective with Relevance to India

Thippaiah, Srinagesh Mannekote; Harbishettar, Vijaykumar; Kumar T, Manoj; Pandurangi, Ananda

Telepsychiatry provides a platform for mental health care delivery in rural and remote areas. Hybrid Telepsychiatry model combines home-based telepsychiatry with domiciliary visits by community mental health workers. This involves use of different modes of teledevices which ensures safe and secure clinical platform. Research evidence supports that incorporating this model seems to use the specialist time efficiently where the resources are limited and services need to be catered for larger geographical community. The current telepsychiatry practice in the United States, specifically the hybrid model, has indisputably shown significant benefits in caring for psychiatric patients. Such valuable clinical model and its relevance to current mental practice and also its application in the Indian scenario can be helpful in providing comprehensive multidisciplinary treatment. This review evaluates and highlights the potential risks and benefits of adopting the hybrid telepsychiatry model in the Indian mental health system.