TelePsych Service

24/7 Access to Psychiatrists

In March 2023 NPMC implemented a new service focused on helping those in mental health crisis in response to the rising number of patients admitted with mental health needs.  

We have partnered with a 24/7 telepsych service that offers access to 15 credentialed psychiatrists licensed in Arkansas to provide timely assessment, treatment recommendations, follow-up instructions, and medication prescriptions. 

When a patient arrives at the emergency department in need of mental health services and a psychiatrist is not physically available, our staff alerts the service that a consult is needed. Within an hour, the patient is connected via a video screen to a credentialed psychiatrist.  

Rather than holding patients until the crisis is resolved and/or a psychiatrist is available, telepsychiatrists can provide a quicker point of action for doctors to follow, such as whether the patient should seek in-patient or outpatient treatment and what medications would be best to stabilize the patient.    

In 2012 we successfullly implemented a similar telestroke service through the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences (UAMS),  which also decreases delays in care and saves lives. Approximately 500 stroke patients since 2012 have received the telestroke service.