The Psychiatrist-Patient Relationship of the Future: Anytime, Anywhere?

Abstract

The core doctor-patient relationship is changing and becoming more fluid. Many factors are causing the changes, but they are being underpinned by the current technological revolution, which has spawned terms such as e-patients, health 2.0, participatory medicine, and virtual medicine in cyberspace. The Internet is being used so creatively and commonly by both patients and doctors that it has become literally a "part" of the doctor-patient relationship. To explore how the psychiatrist-patient relationship is changing, five simple questions are examined: How are patient expectations and behaviors changing? Who is using the Internet for mental health care? What online mental health services are currently being offered? How are current and past models of the psychiatrist-patient relationship being affected by these changes? And what is the psychiatrist-patient relationship of the future likely to be? Psychiatrists working in this environment will need to make changes to their practices over time. It is likely that their relationships with patients will continuously change, gradually becoming more participatory and ubiquitous, as care is provided both face-to-face and online-and literally anytime, anywhere.

Telepharmacotherapy for Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Patients

“…Potential future research at KUMC using similar technology to monitor medication response between clinic visits is currently being explored. These advances are consistent with Yellowlees' prediction that the psychiatrist-patient relationship of the future is likely to become ''more participatory and ubiquitous''; virtually ''anytime, anywhere'' (Yellowlees and Nafiz 2010).…”

Telemental Health in Schools

“…While shortages of child psychiatry in underserved communities are expected to continue, rapid growth and improved and more affordable high-speed and sophisticated technology present greater opportunities for TMH to be realistically and effectively used in school and community settings (Katon et al 2010;Yellowlees and Nafiz 2010;Grady et al 2011a;Hilty et al 2013). School TMH could become an essential service delivery model to address the growing mental health needs of students by providing access to an interdisciplinary, comprehensive system of support.…”

Mental Health Practitioners’ Use and Attitudes Regarding the Internet and Social Media

“…[5][6][7] Nevertheless, it is possible that mental health care could benefit from appropriate use of Internet technologies. 8,9 While much has been published about how patients use the Internet for their mental health needs, [10][11][12] less is known about how psychiatrists and psychologists currently use the Internet in their practices, and their attitudes about the use of Internet technologies. One paper, which discussed the ethics of psychiatrists using Internet search engines such as Google to discover information about their patients online, suggested that most psychiatrists have performed what they call "patient-targeted Googling," as the authors themselves had done.…”