While many psychiatrists are looking to adopt telepsychiatry into their own private practice, other clinicians are opting to partner with third party telemental health companies that offer live video therapy sessions to patients. This type of partnership is often appealing to clinicians, as such companies offer administrative and billing support; easy access to patients who are seeking care; as well as technical support and skills training. However, there are a number of things that doctors should consider when deciding if such a partnership is right for them:

• What are the terms of the Business Associate Agreement between the company and the doctor?
• What level of encryption does the company use for its live videoconferencing software?
• Does the company utilize message-sending services in addition to its video platform and, if so, are these messages stored on the company’s servers?

Outside of the technical nuts-and-bolts of partnering with third party telemental companies, the clinician should also ensure that they meet the licensure and malpractice insurance requirements for the states in which these companies operate and in which the doctor may virtually see patients. APA’s Telepsychiatry Toolkit provides information on computer platform and software requirements for telepsychiatry so that psychiatrists know which technical questions to ask when contacting these companies for more information. The Toolkit also provides an overview of state licensure issues for practicing across state lines.

Finally, if you are using a third party telemental health company to provide telepsychiatric services to patients, we would like to hear from you! E-mail us at [email protected] and tell us about your experiences!