Telemedicine and telepsychiatry are secure and convenient ways for patients living in an increasingly virtual world to access mental and psychiatric health care services. If you're considering seeing a psychiatrist but would prefer to meet with them remotely, online psychiatry services may be a good fit.

As part of telehealth and telemedicine services, online therapy and telepsychiatry for cognitive disorders are available with a licensed psychotherapist by schedule.

By using an online appointment for mental health care services, a patient can connect with a clinician and receive psychiatric help without driving to their office. Receiving mental health care and therapy can now be done without the need for primary care physician referrals at this practice..

What Are Telepsychiatry and Telemedicine?

A remote clinician or a psychiatric expert uses telecommunications technology, such as videoconferencing, to diagnose and treat mental health patients during their schedule without the need for clinic site or hospital visits.

The psychiatrist and patient can have a face-to-face conversation while in separate rooms, cities, states, or even countries via telepsychiatry. Patients with mental health disorders can schedule an appointment with their health care provider for psychiatric services to resolve their mental health care issues.

As with face-to-face therapy and psychiatric sessions with a trusted psychiatrist, online therapy care and online telepsychiatry differ from each other. Counseling services can be provided by a psychiatrist or by a licensed mental health professional, but the licensed mental health professional, whether social worker or psychologist (LSW, LICSW, MSW, PhD, PsyD) cannot prescribe medication to the patient without a medical degree (MD/DO/NP/PA). However, a psychiatrist can combine various forms of therapy with prescriptions to resolve your mental health care needs.

Schedule an Appointment With the Best Psychiatrist in Boston

Luminous Vitality Behavioral Health Clinic is a Boston-based clinic led by trusted psychiatrist Dr. Ronald Lee. Due to the toll of Covid-19 pandemic on our mental health care, telemedicine has allowed psychiatrists to reach out to patients and schedule mental health therapy through online appointments. Our professional psychiatrists with years of experience in mental health treatment can provide psychiatric care for our patients with mental disorders in Boston, and throughout Massachusetts.

Dr. Lee is a reliable psychiatrist with an eclectic understanding of mental health disorders, and the best approach to treat them. Book an appointment today!

Equipment

During telemedicine, the device is either fully charged or plugged in
Placed on a firm/flat surface for a steady picture
Ear/headphones are recommended to a patient during a telepsychiatry session for sound quality and to reduce distraction
High-speed internet connection (5-10+ Mbps) on a stable network (shut off competing devices on the same network to improve stability)
Please make sure your (listed on file) phone is available during a telehealth session to serve as a backup for calls in case of technical issues

Environment

Sufficient lighting (near a window for sunlight, or enough artificial light such as lamps)
For appropriate quality video during a telepsychiatry session, lamps are better in front of, not behind the patient
Quiet space for telepsychiatry: background music, children, noise, etc. can disrupt your treatment
It is highly recommended to provide a protected time and environment for your telepsychiatry visit, as you would do for an “in-person” office schedule.
Privacy: Let people you work/live with know that you have a private telepsychiatry session, requesting no interruptions. If possible, locking your door or providing “do not disturb” signs may help. Visits with other people present (unless participating with you) are not appropriate, such as public places (ex. Starbucks). If private and quiet indoor space is not available to you during a telepsychiatry session, your vehicle of safe outdoor areas could suffice.

Preparation

I use two platforms in the event of disruptions: Doximity, which works with most iPhones/iPads/Android Phones, and MacBooks; the patient should expect a text message link at appointment time, and as a backup, www.doxy.me/docronaldlee on nearly any device with internet service.
If a non-MacBook laptop is used by the patient or Doxy.me for whatever reason is your preferred platform, please inform me beforehand so that I can anticipate/accommodate.
The patient should be ready early — check your internet connection, ensure your space is comfortably put together 15 minutes before your appointment
The patient should take a few minutes while setting up to mentally prepare, have any questions written down, for example

Telehealth Psychiatrist

If you need a more convenient, but still high-quality telehealth treatment plan with psychiatric support, then telehealth psychiatry may be the perfect option. We have professional psychiatrists that are experts in telemedicine to provide mental health care to treat disorders.

With video conferencing allowing psychiatrists to connect with and help patients across their state, a patient can receive professional mental health help and telehealth services from the top psychiatrists in your local area, including Dr. Lee. Check with your insurance provider to see if Dr. Lee’s mental health care services will be covered.

What is Tele Psychiatry?

You are likely familiar with the concept of face to face therapy, but you may not have heard of telepsychiatry services and how they work. Tele psychiatric care can be just as effective as traditional in person talk therapy and can be used for the treatment of mental illness and many mental health conditions.

How exactly does it work? Firstly, new patients can reach out for an initial visit and consultation appointment which gives board certified psychiatrists the opportunity to understand your motivation for seeking clinical services and further information on your medical history from when you received treatment from other providers. Tele psychiatry does not take place through phone calls or any in person appointments. Instead, the patient can receive care through synchronous (real-time and live) video appointments from the comfort of the patient's home.

After the initial consultation, there will then be follow-up visits which allow your telehealth psychiatrist to create a health plan and determine other medications which may be suitable for you on your treatment plan. Unlike with in office treatment, your follow-up visit can be efficient and convenient because telehealth appointments are fully remote and can be done from any secure and safe location.

While tele psychiatry is not for emergencies which require an in person appointment, it is an incredibly useful tool and allows expert local psychiatrists to reach out and impact a wider community and provide better outcomes for more individuals.

Telehealth providers have the same qualifications as in person primary care providers and doctors and online psychiatry can be just as effective and beneficial as well. In fact, in some cases patient satisfaction is higher because there is a greater sense of privacy and convenience for patients with a busy schedule.

If you are curious about telepsychiatry, ask your primary care physician about options available to you and whether they think this could be a suitable mental health care for you. Group therapy may also be an option, but this must be discussed with the doctor.

Secure Treatment

Telepsychiatry takes place on secure and encrypted video conferencing platforms. This means that patient information is kept completely confidential just like any information stored on a patient portal.

Surveyed patients participating in online psychiatry have found that they feel even more secure when discussing their mental health conditions because they can do so from the safety of the patient's home, unlike in person treatment where nurse practitioners may be near the primary care doctor or the setting feels too busy.

For Dr Lee, patient privacy is a huge priority and his videoconference based treatment obtains only secure information. He also uses a completely secure and reliable form of video conference and high speed internet to ensure uninterrupted and smooth appointments.

Mental Health Services

Dr Lee is experienced in psychiatric care for a very wide range of mental health conditions and behavioral health issues. His mental health services range from treatment and evaluation to close medication management to ensure that patients are receiving regular and consistent clinical psychiatry services.

Dr Lee has years of experience and provides services treating many mental health issues and behavioral health problems, including substance use disorders, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorders, and depression.

If you or any loved ones or family members are suffering from any mental health issues, they can be helped by Dr Lee and tele psychiatry. He is now accepting new patients to provide health services and online psychiatry to anyone throughout the Massachusetts Commonwealth in need of help.

Ongoing Medication Management Services

Just like with in person care, Dr Lee can prescribe medications as part of treatment for behavioral health or mental health issues. One of the key things to do post-prescription initiation is medication management to ensure that the medication is having a beneficial impact on the patient's wellbeing and lifestyle and to manage any potential side effects that might arise.

Ongoing monitoring through a follow-up appointment is essential for any patient's care and can help prevent negative side effects before they impact a patient's life too heavily much. At any telehealth appointment, patients can bring up their concerns and explain the effects of medication. Through careful medication management and collaborative care with a patient's primary doctor, your psychiatrist can help you find the right medication treatment.

However, there are certain medications and controlled substances that Dr Lee will not prescribe, without additional and significant vigilance via online psychiatry, if at all. This is because certain treatments require in-person evaluations in addition to in-person treatment itself, to ensure the medications are carefully monitored for the patient.

Empathetic and High Quality Care

You can expect caring and quality health care right from the comfort of your own home when you choose telehealth psychiatry. Whether you or a loved one is struggling with mental or behavioral health, a tele psychiatrist can offer collaborative care that will address your medical needs.

The American Psychiatric Association has approved telepsychiatry as a valid and effective practice without statistically significant differences in successful patient treatment, meaning it can be just as effective as in person health care.

If you are interested in exploring telehealth and seeing how it could fit into your life, you may find it helpful to first explore this option with a health insurance provider. Unfortunately, many providers involved in telehealth, including Dr Lee, cannot accept government funded health insurance due to certain local regulations. However, different insurance companies will have different policies and may be able to offer deductibles toward your treatment; as an out-of-network provider clinic, we strongly suggest you check with your insurance, to see if they provide out of network benefits (ex. HMO’s typically will not, PPO/EPO/POS insurances usually will).

Taking the first step toward better mental health may be intimidating, but telehealth provides a safe and secure atmosphere for you to open up and explore new treatment options with qualified and certified psychiatrists. Dr Lee is extremely committed to providing only the highest patient support and experience and will ensure that you receive the right treatment for you.
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