Telehealth Psychiatry via HIPAA Compliant Virtual Platforms serving Philadelphia, The Main Line, Southern New Jersey, New York, Florida and others* **
Video Discussion of Virtual Psychiatric Visits with our practice: Click Here
*View our search tool on the home page, to see which providers are licensed in your state. We serve Philadelphia, The Main Line, Southern New Jersey and many providers are licensed in Pennsylvania (PA), New Jersey (NJ), New York (NY), Florida (FL) and others.
** Of note, there are state and federal rules regarding the prescription of certain medications by way of tele-health visits. Depending on your treatment, you may be required to have an in-office visit for your initial evaluation, and you may be required to come into one of our physical locations periodically as well. Call for information.
What is Telehealth (Virtual visit) Psychiatry ?
Telehealth or Virtual Visit healthcare, is healthcare provided by any means other than a face-to-face visit. In Telehealth services, medical and mental health information is used for diagnosis, consultation, treatment, therapy, follow-up and education. Telephone consultation, videoconferencing, email, robotic text appointment reminders and the use of patient portals are all considered telehealth services.
While face-to-face appointments at our locations in Philadelphia and on the Main Line (Paoli, PA) may be convenient for many, patients living in more remote areas of Pennsylvania, or even in states such as New Jersey, New York, Florida or others, may not easily be able to access our in-office care. Rittenhouse Psychiatric Associates wanted to meet the needs of these populations, and has begun offering HIPAA compliant virtual appointments (initial Psychiatric evaluations, medication management appointments and therapy) for individuals who would benefit from this service. Our group has invested in Virtual appointment software where patients can login using their provider’s credentials, enter a “waiting room,” so their provider sees that they are ready for their appointment, and then be let into their session by their provider. This allows for confidentiality to be maintained, in addition to other security features offered by our virtual telehealth HIPAA compliant software.
Are there specific regulations for Telehealth (Virtual) Visits in Philadelphia, South Jersey or the other locations that you serve (PA, NJ, NY and FL)?
There are specific rules and regulations that pertain to how Telehealth visits can be conducted. For example, providers must be licensed by the state medical or nursing board, where they are both physically located for their patient visit, and where the patient is physically located, for the same visit. All prescribers at Rittenhouse Psychiatric Associates are licensed in the State of Pennsylvania (and thus, we can serve Pennsylvanians living in more remote or rural areas of the state) and many of our providers are also licensed in New Jersey, Florida, New York and other states. Call for availability of providers in your state, or use our search tool on the home page.
There may also be specific regulations by state and federal governing bodies, regarding the prescription of certain medications by way of virtual psychiatric appointments. Our mental health practice also may have specific rules that apply only to virtual visits. For example, patients on controlled medications may be required to have their initial visit face-to-face and/or they may be required to have an in-office visit every 90 days. Patients can call to discuss the specific rules and regulations regarding your state and those held by our providers who serve your specific location.
What cities does Rittenhouse Psychiatric Associates Service ?
We service Philadelphia, The Main Line, Pittsburgh, Allentown and all of Pennsylvania. We service all of New Jersey including both more rural areas of southern new jersey and suburbs of New York City to the north. Many of our providers are licensed in surrounding states as well.
What considerations should I make, before making a Telehealth Appointment ?
It is important for patients to be aware of potential drawbacks to virtual visits, when making the decision to set up an appointment. For example, technical issues (on both the provider’s and patient’s ends) can affect psychiatric visits. When this occurs, visits are transitioned to phone appointments. Another potential issue, is that providers may be less able to read body language, check vital signs, or assess for physical symptoms of medical or mental illness. It is very important, that anyone considering Telehealth or Virtual Psychiatric appointments at Rittenhouse Psychiatric Associates reviews our Telehealth Consent form and fully discussed appropriateness of care, with our scheduling team.
One important consideration, is that if a patient has a history of inpatient psychiatric admissions, psychosis, suicide attempts or suicidal ideation with a specific plan, they would likely benefit from seeing a provider face-to-face for safety purposes (and thus, we will not be able to accommodate virtual visits for these individuals at this time). For these individuals, we would highly recommend seeing a local provider, who not only can have face-to-face appointments, but also has admitting privileges at local hospitals, near their homes.
Call Amy, Jes or Chris now, at 267-358-6155 x 1. They’ll be happy to pick up the phone and discuss Telehealth at Rittenhouse Psychiatric Associates.
