Telepsychiatry in the heartland: If we build it, will they come?

The quality of care provided by telemedicine and its acceptability to perso ns who live in rural areas is largely undetermined. In this study, service satisfaction and functional status in persons using telemedicine was compar ed to those receiving face-to-face services at two rural sites over a 2-yea r study period. Similar ratings of satisfaction and clinical status were ob served in twelve patients who received services under both modalities. Alth ough there are many obstacles to successful program implementation, telepsy chiatry appears to offer an acceptable and adequate alternative made of ser vice delivery to persons who live in rural areas.