Technology Bringing Children and Doctors Together

Discovery (Howstuffworks)

In an article recently published on Syracuse.com, New York is using technology to better connect children with mental disorders and psychiatrists. The NewYork’s Office of Mental Health is set to join other states to venture into telepsychiatry. Telepsychiatry is the process of using live, interactive video conferencing for child psychiatrists to talk to families and their kids.

According to the article, studies say as much as 80 percent of children with mental disorders do not receive treatment, in part due to the shortage of child psychiatrists.While it is estimated that about 30,000 of them are needed to adequately treat children, there are only about 7,000 child psychiatrists practicing in the nation

The shortage has prompted New York’s Office of Mental Health to join other states to venture into telepsychiatry. It’s a promising development that will increase access to mental health care to those kids who don’t have it.

The need for telepsychiatry will grow as the under-18 population soars. The population of children is projected to grow by more that 40 percent in the next 50 years to more than 100 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

For more information, visit the original article