Provider Satisfaction from a New Telepsychiatry Inpatient Consultation Service.

Background:Telepsychiatry is a well-studied modality that has been shown to perform as well as, if not better than, in-person mental health services. However, acceptability of this modality to practitioners, especially as it relates to the type of consult, has not been well studied. To address barriers to implementing a new telepsychiatry consultation-liaison (CL) service at a rural campus of a large tertiary care health network, authors designed a survey to assess consultee attitudes before and after the service launch. A secondary objective was to examine the consult data.Materials and Methods:The new telepsychiatry CL service at the rural hospital was delivered by providers at the main campus of the health network. Authors surveyed all consultees before the launch and every 3 months for 12 months thereafter. Consult data was also tracked in that same period.Results:Over a 12-month period, 442 initial and follow-up consults were completed. Consultees were most concerned with assessing delirium, agitation, and neurocognitive disorder over live video. Consultees generally held their belief that telepsychiatry consults are not as enjoyable as in-person consults, but they recognized its value, specifically regarding improved access for patients.Discussion:The service was successfully launched and was well received as evidenced by the continued use of the service.Conclusions:The project revealed valuable insight which has been used to improve the service and to replicate it at another campus within the health network.

Peripheral vascular disease and depression.

The occurrence of peripheral vascular disease (PVD) in our aging population is of great proportion affecting approximately 20% of the population, which extrapolates to 8 to 12 million Americans. PVD is a progressive disease that almost always includes one or more comorbidities that impact greatly on severity and management of the disease. The age of disease onset can vary but most commonly presents at age 65 years and older. Depressive symptoms in the same age group occur in 30% to 60% of individuals with PVD. When a disabling disease such as PVD is combined with the already deteriorating effects of the aging process, the risk of these patients developing depression is greatly increased. The depressive symptoms in this population of patients are often unrecognized by their primary physician. This article reviews the potential mechanisms of depression, the effects of the combination of depression and a chronic illness such as PVD, the importance of recognizing depressive symptoms, and the available treatment options. The characteristics of PVD, including the effects on physical and mental health, the signs and symptoms of major depressive disorder, and the available screening tools used to evaluate a patient who may have depression, will also be discussed.

A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of adjunctive ramelteon for the treatment of insomnia and mood stability in patients with euthymic bipolar disorder.

BACKGROUND: Abnormalities in circadian rhythms are prominent features of bipolar disorder. Disrupted circadian rhythms are associated with an increased risk of relapse in bipolar disorder. Normalizing the circadian rhythm pattern of bipolar patients may improve their sleep and lead to fewer mood exacerbations. This study evaluated adjunctive ramelteon for the treatment of insomnia and mood stability in euthymic bipolar patients. METHODS: Participants with euthymic bipolar disorder and sleep disturbances were randomized to receive adjunctive ramelteon or placebo in addition to their regular psychiatric medications for up to 24 weeks or until they experienced a relapse (defined as a depressed or manic event). RESULTS: 83 participants were randomized to receive ramelteon (n=42) or placebo (n=41). Forty participants relapsed (48.2%). Cox regression analyses indicated that participants who received ramelteon (odds ratio 0.48, p=.024) were less likely to relapse. Kaplan Meier curves also indicated longer median survival times in the ramelteon group (Mdn=188 days) versus the placebo group (Mdn=84 days) X2(1)=5.33, p=.02. There were no serious adverse events in this study. LIMITATIONS: This was a small study with only 83 participants. The one-week window of confirmed stability is shorter than time intervals used in other studies. CONCLUSIONS: The present study shows that ramelteon was effective in maintaining stability for individuals with bipolar disorder. Patients treated with ramelteon were approximately half as likely to relapse as patients treated with placebo throughout the 24-week treatment period.