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[Telepsychiatry--psychiatric advice on the Internet]
Marek Krzystanek1, Irena Krupka-Matuszczyk
1Katedry i Kliniki Psychiatrii i Psychoterapii SAM w Katowicach. marek.krzystanek@poradnikmedyczny.pl
Unlabelled:
Telepsychiatry is a medical service with a use of contemporary communication technologies. Internet and electronic mail are included.
Aim:
The aim of the study was to examine the use of electronic mail in psychiatric advices.
Method:
Anonymous electronic mail (327) sent to the author from June 2001 to May 2002 were selected. They were then processed according to the following criteria: patient age and gender, person who was a subject of consultation, reason and subject of a consultation and prevailing symptoms of a disease. Data frequencies were obtained.
Results:
75% of patients referred their own psychiatric problem. The most frequent reasons of consultation were: a cry for help (44%), question about a disease (27%), consultation of a diagnosis (16%) or a therapy (13%). The biggest groups of symptoms related to fear (38%), disturbances of mood (18%), schizophrenic symptoms (13.5%) and sexual dysfunctions (10.5%).
Conclusions:
Psychiatrists on the Internet may expect an increase of electronic mail applicability in psychiatric advising. There is a need of medical, legal and ethical regulations of by-Internet doctor-patient relationship. Electronic mail may be treated as a source of knowledge on psychopathological symptoms and epidemiology of mental disturbances amongst the internet users.