Erie, PA, Aug. 06, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- INTEGRIS Health is the largest Oklahoma-owned not-for-profit health system in the state, known for innovation and unparalleled quality offering advanced treatment options and specialties found nowhere else in the region. INTEGRIS has an expansive clinical team, however, like many systems, the psychiatric provider shortage has affected their ability to recruit and retain psychiatrists.
COVID-19 is a crisis for all, especially for health care employees that are on the front lines. As the world faces months of uncertainty, the demand for behavioral health treatment continues to increase.
Prior to COVID, it was already difficult to get in to see a psychiatrist, in many communities, it can take months to get an appointment with a psychiatrist, and now the system is even more stretched during this time. However, telepsychiatry has proven to be an extremely effective solution in increasing access to care.
innovaTel Telepsychiatry is a clinically owned and operated telepsychiatry company that was founded with the fundamental mission to increase access to care. innovaTel has a remote clinical team made up of psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners and licensed clinical social workers spanning multiple sub-specialties and partners directly with health care organizations to help them grow their clinical teams through telehealth technology, increasing access to care for their patients.
innovaTel has long advocated that telepsychiatry is equivalent to in-person care and now, many patients and providers are experiencing this for the first time with the rapid adoption of telehealth over the last few months.
In May, innovaTel Telepsychiatry was approached by INTEGRIS to develop an innovative telepsychiatry partnership to ensure access to mental health services for their frontline health care employees.
“Our people are our greatest asset. We are determined to provide solutions to ensure our frontline caregivers get the mental health support they need to sustain resilience during this challenging time,” said Allie Friesen, the system director of behavioral health at INTEGRIS “Our leadership team recognized early on the emotional strain and physical exhaustion caused by caring for a growing number of coronavirus patients. Adding to that stress are the very real concerns of contracting COVID-19 themselves or infecting family members as a result of their work.”
To provide much-needed mental health support to their employees, INTEGRIS needed a partner with the psychiatric capacity to meet the demand and selected innovaTel Telepsychiatry, the program is launching this month.
innovaTel Telepsychiatry is honored to build this program alongside INTEGRIS in providing this critical support to their employees. innovaTel CEO, Jonathan Evans, shared “Having worked in a busy hospital emergency room, I’m aware under usual circumstances the demand on front line clinicians. With this significant increase in demand caused by COVID, we agree with the INTEGRIS leadership that providing timely access to behavioral health services is critical and a meaningful level of support to provide to their staff. We look forward to working with the INTEGRIS team closely to support the frontline staff at INTEGRIS.”
About INTEGRIS: INTEGRIS is the largest Oklahoma-owned not-for-profit health system in the state with hospitals, rehabilitation centers, physician clinics, mental health facilities, home health and hospice services, as well as eHealth capabilities. The organization is known for innovation and unparalleled quality offering advanced treatment options and specialties found nowhere else in the region. INTEGRIS is a member of the Mayo Clinic Care Network. For more information, visit integrisok.com.
About innovaTel: innovaTel is a national telepsychiatry provider that partners directly with community-based organizations to improve access to behavioral health services. For the past six years, innovaTel has been providing telebehavioral health services with a remote clinical team made up of psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners and licensed clinical social workers with a fundamental mission of increasing access to care. For more information, visit www.innovatel.com
Lauren Lashbrook
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