BMJ  2003;327:347 (9 August), doi:10.1136/bmj.327.7410.347

reviews

Book

Telepsychiatry and e-Mental Health

The earliest reports of telepsychiatry (defined in this book as "the delivery of health care and the exchange of information for purposes of providing psychiatric services across distances") date from the late 1950s, when an interactive television link was used in Nebraska, United States, to connect a teaching hospital department of psychiatry with a state institution. Today, e-mental health ("mental health services provided through any form of electronic medium, most commonly via the internet or telephony") is practised in most Western countries and delivered widely in different ways around the world.

Eds Richard Wootton, Peter Yellowlees, Paul McLaren Royal Society of Medicine Press, £24.95/$39.95, pp 368 ISBN 1 8531 549 7 www.rsmpress.co.uk/bkwootton3.htm Rating:

This book is one of the first to examine this field comprehensively. It is an interesting and ultimately important read for patients seeking valid sources of education and self help, and for all mental health professionals, whether practising or considering using telepsychiatry and the internet.

The contributors are experienced practitioners of telepsychiatry from a wide range of clinical and academic centres in Australia, Europe, and north America. They discuss various technologies and approaches, real life experiences, economic challenges, legal and ethical aspects, experimental ideas, and future trends.

Telepsychiatry and e-mental health are a reality of the e-21st century. e-mental health services will never replace face to face care, nor does the book in any way suggest that they should. But the benefits that they can provide mean that they look set to be increasingly integrated into face to face programmes. In particular they can ensure that mental health care becomes more accessible and affordable for those who are at present out of direct reach of such services, whether that is because they are bed bound, phobic or paranoid, living in a remote area, or even in prison.

This book is bursting with useful information, practical ideas, advice, and up to date international references on technical, clinical, economic, and legal issues for both mental health professionals and patients. It offers a comprehensive overview of the current state of telepsychiatry and e-mental health and a valuable insight into the future of this exciting and developing field.

Croatian Medical Journal kfister{at}mef.hr

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