MDLIVE Becomes First Telemedicine Company to Offer Virtual Psychiatric Services in all 50 States
Sunrise, Fla (PRWEB) February 16, 2017 -- MDLIVE today announced it is the first telemedicine provider to offer virtual psychiatric services in all 50 states. The company, which has a behavioral health network of more than 1,300 mental health professionals, now has contracted psychiatrists in each state to perform virtual care consultations.
The announcement marks a significant milestone for the company at a critical time in the country’s mental health discussion, in which it’s estimated that one in five people in the U.S. has a diagnosable mental disorder and current wait times to see a behavioral health expert average 30 days.
“Part of the mental health crisis in the U.S. is due to the difficulty in finding and accessing qualified mental health practitioners in urban and rural areas,” said Scott Decker, chief executive officer at MDLIVE. “With nearly 80 million Americans living in areas experiencing a mental health professional shortage, we’re proud to be the first telemedicine provider to offer individuals across the country access to quality, convenient, private and affordable mental healthcare.”
MDLIVE launched its virtual behavioral health services offering in November 2014 following its purchase of Breakthrough Behavioral. Since the acquisition, MDLIVE Behavioral Health has conducted nearly 50,000 virtual behavioral health consults and is now available to more than 10 million people across the country as a covered benefit through their healthcare plans, as well as direct to all consumers for the price of a copay.
“The need for virtual behavioral health is staggering,” said Larry Gleit, executive vice president and general manager of MDLIVE Behavioral Health. “More than 4,000 counties in the U.S. – at least one in every state - have a mental health professional shortage, so it’s not surprising that 60 percent of adults with a mental illness did not receive mental health services in the previous year.” He noted, “We are proud to be able to provide consumers access, regardless of where they live, to counseling and psychiatric services in a secure, easy to use and convenient way.”
For more information about MDLIVE’s behavioral health offering, visit mdlive.com.
Bethany Parker, MDLIVE, Inc., http://www.mdlive.com, +1 (615) 577-1131, [email protected]
Share this article