Orbit Health

Telemedicine owes at least part of its existence to… Boston traffic.

In 1967, a Mass General doctor working at Logan Airport got fed up with his patients struggling to get care because of constant traffic jams. So he put a camera at the airport and started examining patients remotely.

That doctor, Kenneth Bird, would go on to coin the term “telemedicine.”

This story is from the latest episode of The Telepsychiatry Advantage, where Dr. Edward Kaftarian traces telemedicine’s surprisingly long history — one that started long before Zoom, FaceTime, or the pandemic. Listen to the full episode below!

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-telepsychiatry-advantage/id1893377031

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1sk8JaIhTzOQe9qlAQQPid?si=0b6fd812955c46f9

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/

For as long as Orbit Health has been around, telemedicine has been treated like “the future.”

But we’re getting close to the point where it’s just healthcare.

On the latest episode of The Telepsychiatry Advantage, we trace the history of telemedicine back more than a century — not just to the pandemic.

And that history shows just how much the gap between telemedicine and traditional care has closed. Listen to the full episode below with Dr. Edward Kaftarian to hear how far remote care has come, especially in just the last few years.

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-telepsychiatry-advantage/id1893377031

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1sk8JaIhTzOQe9qlAQQPid?si=0b6fd812955c46f9

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/

Relapse does NOT mean treatment failed. And it definitely does not mean the patient should be kicked out of care.

Unfortunately, that mindset still shows up too often in substance use treatment. Dr. Kaftarian explains why relapse should be treated as a signal to reassess the plan, not a reason to give up on the patient.

Listen to the full episode of The Telepsychiatry Advantage for Dr. Kaftarian’s best tips on treating substance use disorders through telepsychiatry.

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-telepsychiatry-advantage/id1893377031

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1sk8JaIhTzOQe9qlAQQPid?si=0b6fd812955c46f9

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/

Substance use treatment has a drop-off problem. Patients can relapse. They disappear. They miss appointments. Then getting back into care can feel like one more mountain to climb.

That is where telepsychiatry can be a huge advantage. It lowers the friction between “I need help” and actually seeing a clinician.

This clip is from the latest episode of The Telepsychiatry Advantage, where Dr. Edward Kaftarian breaks down how telepsychiatry can improve substance use treatment. Listen to the full episode below!

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-telepsychiatry-advantage/id1893377031

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1sk8JaIhTzOQe9qlAQQPid?si=0b6fd812955c46f9

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/

Clinicians often talk about having a “sixth sense” for when a patient isn’t telling them everything. That instinct can be especially important when substance use is involved, even when the visit is happening remotely.

In this clip, Dr. Edward Kaftarian explains what clinicians can do when that sixth sense starts going off during a virtual visit. It’s part of our latest episode on substance use disorders and how clinicians can be better prepared to recognize the signs when practicing telepsychiatry. Listen to the full episode below!

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-telepsychiatry-advantage/id1893377031

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1sk8JaIhTzOQe9qlAQQPid?si=0b6fd812955c46f9

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/

Can you spot signs of substance use through a telepsychiatry visit? Yes, but clinicians may have to be more intentional about what they’re looking for.

A screen can make subtle physical signs easier to miss than in-person, but that doesn’t mean they’re impossible to assess virtually.

In the latest episode of The Telepsychiatry Advantage, Dr. Kaftarian explains how telepsychiatrists can be more deliberate when substance use is a concern while on a screen. It’s part one of a two-part series on the growing challenge of substance use and how clinicians can be better prepared to recognize it and help their patients. Listen below!

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-telepsychiatry-advantage/id1893377031

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1sk8JaIhTzOQe9qlAQQPid?si=0b6fd812955c46f9

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/

In an office, an angry patient cannot disappear with one click. In telepsychiatry, they can.

If a patient escalates and shuts off the video, the clinician may not know what happens next — where the patient goes, what they do, or whether the situation is getting worse after the appointment abruptly ends.

That is why Dr. Edward Kaftarian says telepsychiatrists have to catch escalation early. In this clip, he shares the telltale signs that a patient is starting to escalate before the visit spirals.

Listen to the full episode below for the best ways to de-escalate angry patients in telepsychiatry.

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-telepsychiatry-advantage/id1893377031

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1sk8JaIhTzOQe9qlAQQPid?si=0b6fd812955c46f9

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/

Never tell an angry patient to “calm down” — especially in telepsychiatry. Those two words almost always have the opposite effect and just makes patients more angry.

In the latest episode of The Telepsychiatry Advantage, Dr. Edward Kaftarian talks about de-escalating patients over a screen. Drawing on decades of experience, he explains the signs that someone is starting to escalate and how to bring the temperature down without saying the one phrase that usually makes things worse.

Listen to the full episode below:

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-telepsychiatry-advantage/id1893377031

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1sk8JaIhTzOQe9qlAQQPid?si=0b6fd812955c46f9

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/

It is easy to assume a remote screen makes treating patients with psychosis harder.

But sometimes the in-person appointment creates the bigger barrier for patients: the long commute, the traffic, the waiting room, the unfamiliar environment, and the pressure of sitting face-to-face in an office.

For many patients, telepsychiatry may actually be the lower bar. In this clip from a recent episode of The Telepsychiatry Advantage, Dr. Edward Kaftarian explains why clinicians should be careful before assuming in-person care is always the easier or better option. Listen to the full episode below!

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-telepsychiatry-advantage/id1893377031

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1sk8JaIhTzOQe9qlAQQPid?si=0b6fd812955c46f9

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/

It is often thought that telepsychiatry just isn’t ideal for patients suffering from psychosis.

But the American Psychiatric Association has consistently supported telepsychiatry as a valuable tool for patients with serious mental illness, including schizophrenia and psychosis.

In a recent episode of The Telepsychiatry Advantage, Dr. Edward Kaftarian explains why telepsychiatry may work better for these patients than many clinicians wrongly assume. Listen below!

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-telepsychiatry-advantage/id1893377031

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1sk8JaIhTzOQe9qlAQQPid?si=0b6fd812955c46f9

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/