Davor Mucic and Monika Jokumsen
This article reports on a project running over 24 months from July 2010 until July 2012, conducted by The Little Prince Psychiatric Centre in Copenhagen in cooperation with three general practitioner’s clinics on the outskirts of Denmark. The article outlines the conceptual shared care model, in which psychiatrists and psychologists collaborate with general physicians in the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of mental health patients in the context of the general physician’s office by use of telepsychiatry service. A formal evaluation of the project was conducted and outcomes are discussed along with issues related to the requirements for sustaining the service over time and broadening its applicability. The results has shown that collaboration via use of videoconferencing across levels of health care sectors can be a useful alternative that offers learning, leads to continuity, reduces costs and improves the quality of care. Telepsychiatry, in the form of video conferencing, has been well received by patients (n=27) and general practitioners (n=3) as a method reducing waiting time and bridging the distance between patients and specialized psychiatric care.
