Vero Beach, FL – The Indian River County Sheriff’s Office has added an additional provider to their telepsychiatry program to increase access to psychiatric care for inmates at their jail in Vero Beach. InSight brings 12 hours a week of telepsychiatry services to Indian River’s inmates from a psychiatric nurse practitioner.
Telepsychiatry is the delivery of psychiatry through real time videoconferencing. It is proven to be an effective form of care delivery and a convenient, cost-effective way to safely expand the psychiatric support at a corrections facility without having to staff an in-person psychiatry provider. It also ensures the safety and security of both the remote provider and the inmate.
According the National Alliance on Mental Illness, at least 83% of jail inmates with a mental illness did not have access to needed treatment[1]. Telepsychiatry is found to improve access to mental health services for inmates and save correctional facilities from $12,000 to more than $1 million annually.[2]
Indian River’s successful telepsychiatry program is expanding because of a partnership with InSight, a national telepsychiatry service provider organization. InSight brings years of experience in correctional facility psychiatric care to serve Indian River County inmates and increase access to care when they need it the most. Services provided by an InSight telepsychiatry nurse practitioner include psychiatric evaluations and medical management of an adult corrections population. With this program, Indian River aims to assess the behavioral health needs of inmates to ensure a safe correctional environment and determine if a care plan should be designed to encourage rehabilitation of an inmate.
“Telepsychiatry in corrections facilities is an extremely promising model that prioritizes safety and the well-being of the inmate first. Programs like Indian River allow inmates to receive behavior health assessments they may have never had access to before,” said InSight’s Operations Manager of Scheduled Services Nate Ortiz.
“We are happy to increase access to behavioral healthcare within our sites and look forward to assessing and treating the needs of our inmates. Adequate behavioral healthcare is a crucial aspect of correctional work,” said Major Eric Flowers.
This telepsychiatry program will allow the Indian River Sheriff’s Office to increase their ability to treat and manage inmates that need care the most.
About InSight + Regroup
InSight + Regroup (now Array Behavioral Care) is the leading and largest telepsychiatry service provider in the US with a mission to transform access to quality behavioral health care. InSight + Regroup serves hundreds of organizations and individuals in various settings across the continuum of care with its on-demand, scheduled services and direct-to-consumer (Inpathy) divisions. Given its size, diversity of services and extensive experience and expertise, InSight + Regroup is uniquely positioned to enable scalable telepsychiatry programs across the care continuum. As an industry thought leader, InSight + Regroup has helped shape the field, define the standard of care and advocate for improved telepsychiatry-friendly regulations. To learn more, visit www.arraybc.com.
About Indian River County Sheriff’s Office
The Sheriff’s Office mission is to serve the public with dignity, integrity and professional service while enhancing their partnership with the community in order to protect life and property, prevent crime and solve problems. More information can be found at www.ircsheriff.org.
[1] NAMI. (n.d.). Retrieved August 11, 2017, from https://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Public-Policy/Jailing-People-with-Mental-Illness
[2] Deslich, S. (2013). Telepsychiatry in Correctional Facilities: Using Technology to Improve Access and Decrease Costs of Mental Health Care in Underserved Populations. The Permanente Journal,17(3), 80-86. doi:10.7812/tpp/12-123
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