No psychiatrist nearby? Turn on the screen

Detroit Free Press, November 17, 2009

Dr. Paul Quinlan, a child psychiatrist at Michigan State University, talks to his young patients about everything from ADHD to bipolar disorder. But in a state strapped for child psychiatrists, where one in five children have behavioral or emotional issues, there's not enough time to drive to the farthest corners and innermost cities where need is greatest. So, from his office in East Lansing, he treats children through video, chatting with them and their parents as if they were sitting across from him. Videoconferencing— telepsychiatry—is an effective way to treat families where doctors may be an hour away, or as is often with Mott Children's Health Center in Flint, there's a multi-month waiting list for the one child psychiatrist on staff.