Furthermore, the point was made by the lawyer who gave the talk I attended that if you call your doctor to ask about something, say, at night, you don't get a bill for it. So, by extension, you can't bill for a full session that takes place on the phone.
True. Only lawyers can bill for phone exchanges. By the minute.
Personally, I don't like phone sessions. Maybe because I don't like talking on the phone, in general. I find it difficult to lose that sense you get of a patient who's in the room with you, not to mention the facial expressions and other visual cues (admittedly, these are lacking in analysis, as well).
That said, sometimes, it's necessary. A patient who needs to move suddenly, but hasn't transitioned to another psychiatrist yet. Or maybe doesn't want to. A patient who's laid up at home because of illness. Or maybe because of maternity or paternity leave. A patient who has to fly to a distant city due to a family emergency or a death.
It seems to me there are a lot of good reasons to rely on phone or Skype sessions, especially when the patient would suffer without any session at all. Are we, as psychiatrists, really supposed to spend 45 minutes on the phone with a patient, making the same comments and interpretations we would make in person, working just as hard as we would in person, and then not charge for the session?
This is a topic for another time, but why do people think it's immoral, or somehow distasteful, for doctors to want to make a living? Are we really supposed to work for free?
So what's the deal, here? Why is tele-medicine considered substandard? Is it just an excuse to limit coverage, or is it based on some factual data?
As it turns out, prison systems routinely use tele-psychiatry. I hope it isn't the case that prisoners are getting substandard care.
And you can use telepsychiatry in some states, but not others. Additionally, the use of telepsychiatry varies based on type of insurance.
For instance, medicaid covers telepsychiatry in NY.
Private insurance varies by insurer. My guess is, if there's any excuse not to cover, they won't cover.
Medicare covers telepsychiatry with some provisos. First, the consumer must be located in a "non-metropolitan statistical area", which may or may not be the same thing as a Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA) .
From what I can tell the consumer also has to have the session in a qualified facility, which I guess means that he or she needs to show up at a clinic or hospital, and have a qualified staff person with him or her. During the actual session? I can't figure that out.
The clinician, on the other hand, can be anywhere, even at home, but has to be licensed in the appropriate state. I assume that's the state where the patient is located.
Now, back to that "substandard care" business. If it's good enough for prisoners and people in rural, underserved areas, it should be good enough for anyone. Alternatively, it's not really good enough for anyone, but it's the best anyone can do under certain circumstances.
The next question is, "What does the literature say about how telepsychiatry compares to in-person treatment?"
Stay tuned.
