Telepsychiatry: A Successful Experience in Antioquia, Colombia.

OBJECTIVE

To describe the experience of physicians and patients in the Telepsychiatry programme at the University of Antioquia's Faculty of Medicine in the first 12 months after its implementation in eight towns across Antioquia.

METHODOLOGY

A descriptive study involving the evaluation of 111 patients during the programme's first year. An instrument was designed to evaluate patients' satisfaction and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was used to evaluate the health professionals' satisfaction.

RESULTS

111 patients were seen on 340 occasions. 70 out of the 111 patients (63.1%) were seen by Telepsychiatry at least twice in the first year of implementation. A sample of 38 patients (34%) was used to evaluate their experience, of which 94.7% said their problem had been solved and 100% were highly satisfied. Nine health professionals took part in the programme, who agreed that the technology was useful and easy to use. They also stated that they wanted to continue using it.

CONCLUSION

Health systems across the globe have failed to provide an adequate response to the mental health burden. Therefore, strategies such as telepsychiatry are considered an ideal treatment modality to give patients living in remote locations the specialised attention that they need.