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Practical Telehealth Strategies for Behavioral Health Providers Vanessa Venezia Heuer, MD

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Benefits of telehealth Getting started Logistics Documentation Alaska state guidelines

Key Learning Points

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Benefits of Telehealth

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Why Telehealth?

Flexible Patient-Centered Inclusive

Compliant with Social Distancing

Cultural Components

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Community Connection

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Getting Started

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Getting Started

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Patient Set-Up

Emphasize confidentiality Minimize distraction Camera use Consider time of day

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New vs Established Patients

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Logistics

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Logistics

Affect Distractions Telephone only delivery

Technical Issues

Challenging patients

1

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Affect

Be genuine Convey Empathy Comment on Affect Clarifying statements Be aware of internal state but

not overly reactive to it

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Distractions

Observe how stressors are handled Observe frequency of

distractions In children, ask parents for

help removing distractions In adolescents, work

distractions into therapy

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Telephone only delivery of service

More challenging because of lack of visual cues Be prepared for time lags and

asynchronous communication Therapy as tennis Translate non verbal into

verbal

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Technical issues Reminder calls What will patients do between

“visits”-establish procedures What to do if they don’t

“answer” or are late Be familiar with the technical

service you are using Be aware of note taking and

how this impacts eye contact Telehealth can be less rigid,

children especially may need help demystifying experience

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Challenging situations

The silent treatment The angry patient Intoxication

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Documentation

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Documentation

How will your documentation change based on whether it’s a video session or telephonic only?

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Alaska Guidelines

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Alaska Guidelines

Emergency response policy guidance Hierarchy for provision of services Hierarchy for group services Billing Quality assurance Services available

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Resources 1. American Academy of Child and Adolescent

Psychiatry Practice Parameter on Telepsychiatry. 2. American Psychiatric Association Telepsychiatry

toolkit https://www.psychiatry.org/psychiatrists/practice/telepsychiatry/toolkit

3. American Psychological Association Practice Guidelines on Telepsychology https://www.apa.org/practice/guidelines/telepsychology

4. Tips for Quarantined Parents https://www.apa.org/topics/covid-19/quarantine-parents-tips

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Conclusion