Tele-Psychiatry Service Connects Hospitals with Psychiatric Professionals 24/7
Equum’s Tele-Psychiatry service creates significant clinical and operational value by resolving delays in psychiatric care. Patients in crisis receive timely evaluations, which can de-escalate emergencies and get treatment started at the earliest point of need.
Psychiatry Access & Capacity Challenges
Hospitals nationwide face an acute crisis in managing behavioral health emergencies. Mental illness is highly prevalent (about 1 in 5 U.S. adults experience a mental health condition each year), yet access to psychiatry specialists is severely limited.
Over 60% of U.S. counties – including 80% of rural counties – have no psychiatrist on staff, leaving many emergency departments without any psychiatric coverage. As a result, patients in psychiatric crisis often endure extreme waits for evaluation sometimes languishing in the ED for days until a specialist can see them.
Equum is the Solution
Equum’s service seamlessly integrates with hospital workflows: the team documents directly in the hospital EHR and coordinates with on-site staff as if they were in-house. By deploying virtual behavioral health staff on demand, hospitals turn a critical shortage into an opportunity – delivering timely, high-quality mental health care that would otherwise be unattainable. In essence, Equum embeds a 24/7 behavioral health specialist team into your hospital virtually, closing the specialist gap and improving care delivery for psychiatric patients.
Let's Elevate Your Hospital's Service Together.
Contact us today to discuss your specific needs and discover how our people-first approach to telehealth can benefit your patients and community.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Tele-Psychiatry and how does it address behavioral health needs?
Tele-Psychiatry provides immediate access to board-certified psychiatrists and behavioral health specialists for emergency psychiatric evaluations, inpatient consultations, and crisis interventions. With the growing behavioral health crisis and shortage of psychiatrists, our virtual services ensure patients receive expert psychiatric care when and where they need it most.
How can Tele-Psychiatry help with ED psychiatric emergencies?
Psychiatric emergencies in the ED often result in long wait times and boarding due to limited psychiatric availability. Our Tele-Psychiatry services provide immediate psychiatric evaluation, risk assessment, medication management, and disposition planning, helping reduce ED boarding times and improve patient flow for behavioral health cases.
What types of psychiatric conditions can be evaluated virtually?
Our psychiatrists can evaluate and manage a wide range of conditions including depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, psychosis, substance use disorders, suicidal ideation, and other behavioral health emergencies. They provide comprehensive assessments, medication management, and treatment planning.
Is virtual psychiatric evaluation as effective as in-person assessment?
Research demonstrates that virtual psychiatric evaluations are highly effective and often preferred by patients due to reduced stigma and increased comfort. Our psychiatrists are specially trained in telepsychiatry techniques and can conduct thorough mental status examinations and risk assessments through secure video technology.
How does Tele-Psychiatry help with inpatient behavioral health needs?
Many medical/surgical patients have concurrent psychiatric conditions that complicate their care. Our Tele-Psychiatry services provide consultation for medication management, behavioral interventions, and discharge planning, helping medical teams manage complex patients with behavioral health components more effectively.
What are the benefits for hospitals without psychiatric units?
Hospitals without dedicated psychiatric units often struggle with behavioral health patients. Tele-Psychiatry provides the psychiatric expertise needed to evaluate, stabilize, and appropriately diagnose these patients, reducing the need for transfers and improving the hospital's ability to serve their community's behavioral health needs.
How can we start Tele-Psychiatry services at our hospital?
Contact Equum Medical to discuss your behavioral health patient volume and current challenges. We'll assess your needs and develop a Tele-Psychiatry program that integrates with your ED and inpatient workflows, providing the psychiatric expertise needed to improve patient care and operational efficiency.