Telehealth, or telemedicine, as a means of providing healthcare has gained ground since the COVID pandemic, enough for it to be a priority of last March’s partnership between Augusta University and Wellstar, resulting in Wellstar MCG Health. In May of last year, AU accepted a million dollars in federal funding to develop the Center of Telehealth.
Two years ago, Georgia passed the Mental Health Parity Act, also known as House Bill 1013. A legislative response to the Georgia’s 2022 ranking as 48th in mental healthcare according to research nonprofit Mental Health America, the law requires insurers cover mental health and substance abuse disorders.
The bill was largely informed by the reports of the of the Georgia Behavioral Health Reform and Innovation Commission, chaired by State Rep. Kevin Tanner of Dawsonville, established in 2019 to review the state’s mental health system.
Integrated Psych Solutions (IPS), also launched in 2019 is a provider specializing in mental healthcare, with telemedicine as a key element in its portfolio.
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The company helps streamline a more holistic approach to treatments for injuries and diseases by incorporating mental health. Burn victims, those in auto accidents and other trauma sufferers can be assessed by therapists after they’re admitted, to address them emotionally and help them process their circumstances.
“We work in concert with the physicians, the surgeons, and help these patients — and many times their families,” said Clayton Swalstad, CEO of IPS. “They’re no longer super anxious or super emotional, they can start to deal with what’s just happened to them and work with the doctors taking care of them to make those decisions.”
IPS offers inpatient, outpatient and telehealth programs, coordinating with staff at Doctors Hospital, Select Specialty Hospital and Walton Rehabilitation Hospital.
Significant traumas, such as burns or wounds, can be profoundly life-changing, “physically, mentally and adaptively,” said Dr. Stephanie Northington, a clinical psychologist with IPS.
“Our main goal is to provide a calm and comforting presence for these individuals,” she said. “We want to acknowledge, support, and normalize their fears and concerns.”
Through psychological and neuropsychological assessments, IPS clinicians seek to find out how traumatic injuries have impacted a patient’s concentration, focus and ability to understand instruction. They then use the resulting data to work with medical staff and families to develop the best care.
“Patients find peace when someone listens to them,” Northington said. “Short-term therapeutic interventions can provide a distraction from pain and let patients discuss their memories of loved ones and activities that bring them joy.”
Northington also noted that making it easier for patients to access mental health treatment is “crucial,” in part to quell the misunderstanding and stigma surrounding mental health.
Dr. Olaseni Ajibade is an internist who often uses IPS services for his patients, also observing that health outcomes are often largely affected by mental health, and both are affected by poor understanding of health.
“Because their health literacy is very poor, their emotional needs around their health is also excessively high,” said Ajibade, recalling that he often had to act as impromptu therapist to his patients during COVID. “You can’t do you can’t play therapists to both the patients and their families, and treat them all at the same time. And [IPS] allows us to be able to treat the whole person and not just the patient and not just the illness so to speak.”
Integrated Psych Solutions Augusta offices are located at 1265 Interstate Parkway. B, near Doctors Hospital. For more information, visit its website at https://integratedpsych.care/
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
