“One of the key strengths of this project will be the emphasis on the partnership between UCLA researchers, the community clinics and the families to develop and test this strategy to bring behavioral health services into the primary care setting using live videoconferencing visits,” said Dr. Tumaini R. Coker, assistant professor of pediatrics at UCLA, who will head the research team.
The project is one of 51 initiatives sponsored by PCORI to improve care delivery while focusing on the needs of patients. More than $88.5 million in funding has been approved for research this year. The UCLA project brings together experts from general pediatrics, developmental and behavioral pediatrics, child and adolescent psychiatry, the UCLA/RAND Prevention Research Center and the UCLA Center for Health Services and Society to work with a large multi-cite community clinic consortium to make videoconferencing part of the care continuum.
“This project reflects PCORI’s commitment to support patient-centered comparative effectiveness research, a new approach to health research that emphasizes the inclusion of patients and caregivers at all stages of the study process,” added Dr. Joe Selby, executive director of PCORI. “The research will provide patients and those who care for them better information about the healthcare decisions they face.”
Behavior healthcare is one of the most promising applications for telehealth technology, and numerous organizations, including the Veterans Affairs health system, have been focusing their efforts on helping patients connect to psychologists, psychiatrists, and other mental health professionals over the internet or the phone. As telehealth becomes more popular with insurance plans, patients should see an increase in the number of telehealth offerings available to them, bolstered by grants and research work sponsored by agencies like PCORI.
---
Autor(en)/Author(s): Jennifer Bresnick
Quelle/Source: EHRIntelligence, 12.06.2013
Bitte besuchen Sie/Please visit:
