Telepsychiatry
Bringing specialized mental health to all of Ontario – development, implementation, and transportability of telepsychiatry
Astoundingly, the equivalent of only 2.5 on-site full-time child psychiatrists service the entire northern region of Ontario. To address this lack of mental health service for this region, the Ontario government has initiated a telepsychiatry program that is coordinated out of SickKids.
Mental health service providers across the province can now consult via videoconferencing with child psychiatrists in Toronto. What can be learned from this innovative program that can be used to shape improvements and to help us to take this model to other jurisdictions world-wide?
A multi-stage evaluation of this program is being undertaken by Dr. Katherine Boydell in collaboration with members of the telepsychiatry team at SickKids and the telepsychiatry sites across the province.
For more information, please contact Dr. Katherine Boydell 416-813-8469