Acceptability of telepsychiatry to a rural population

Sixty-seven residents of a rural Midwestern state were surveyed by telephon e to determine which factors influence their willingness to receive mental health sen ices through live, two-way audio and video transmission. Two-thi rds of the survey respondents were willing to participate in telepsychiatry . Many expressed reluctance, however. They were concerned about maintaining confidentiality, and they perceived telepsychiatry as impersonal. Medicare enrollees and older survey respondents were less willing than younger resp ondents to endorse the use of telemedicine.