Online Addiction Treatment
So many things that we used to do only in-person, we now do online. From something as basic as sending a letter (now email) to things as complicated as buying a car, getting a bank loan, or going to school, we do more and more using our computers. And “our computers” are now often our phones.
The acceptance of “telemedicine” or “telehealth” – the use of computers and video to provide health care – has been a long time coming. U.S. armed forces have used videoconferencing and data sharing to provide specialty medical care to Americans in service for well over a decade.
With an enormous workforce, scattered around the globe, delivering care “online” is the only practical way to get medical specialists everywhere they need to be. See the link to the study below on how they’re using telemedicine for mental health care too. Hospitals across the U.S. are now adopting similar practices. In fact, Medicare/Medicaid reimbursement for telehealth services is now mandated by law in 23 U.S. states, and 15 more have pending legislation. It won’t be long until “telemedicine” is commonplace. But, you may have questions about getting help for addiction online. Here are some answers:
Online Addiction Treatment
So many things that we used to do only in-person, we now do online. From something as basic as sending a letter (now email) to things as complicated as buying a car, getting a bank loan, or going to school, we do more and more using our computers. And “our computers” are now often our phones.
The acceptance of “telemedicine” or “telehealth” – the use of computers and video to provide health care – has been a long time coming. U.S. armed forces have used videoconferencing and data sharing to provide specialty medical care to Americans in service for well over a decade.
With an enormous workforce, scattered around the globe, delivering care “online” is the only practical way to get medical specialists everywhere they need to be. See the link to the study below on how they’re using telemedicine for mental health care too.
Hospitals across the U.S. are now adopting similar practices. In fact, Medicare/Medicaid reimbursement for telehealth services is now mandated by law in 23 U.S. states, and 15 more have pending legislation. It won’t be long until “telemedicine” is commonplace.
But, you may have questions about getting help for addiction online. Here are some answers:
At the other end of the spectrum, some programs provide only pre-recorded study materials and a self-paced program. Depending on your specific needs, one type of program may make more sense for you than the others.
Why Would I Choose Online Treatment Instead of a Traditional “On-Site” Setting?
Online addiction treatment offers some benefits that are hard or impossible to find in an on-site setting. Privacy, schedule flexibility and access are probably the three biggest advantages.
Privacy can be greatly enhanced by getting help with addiction online. Clients accessing care from home or other place connected to the Internet can more effectively control who knows about their treatment. Residential treatment requires clients to leave work and home for an extended period of time, while local outpatient care exposes clients to questions from people they encounter when arriving or leaving an outpatient care facility.
Schedule flexibility is another advantage, depending on the treatment program you choose. Fitting treatment into a schedule of work and family commitments can be difficult, both in terms of time of day, as well as travel time. The two advantages come together when time of day and the need for childcare are concerns. Travel time can easily add an hour to the commitment, and accessing treatment from home, during the right schedule for work and family commitments can save time and money.
Access to treatment can be a challenge in some areas of the world. Driving hours to find care, if it’s even within driving distance, can make committing to the process difficult. Online treatment is available wherever there’s a broadband Internet connection.
Does online treatment work?
Yes, it does. Several significant studies have shown that “telemental health” is at least as effective as in-person mental health care.
“The rapidly growing telemental health program of the U.S. Veterans Affairs health care system delivered more effective mental health services to nearly 100,000 patients than standard, face-to-face encounters during 2007-2010”
– U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs | 2017
Do you have a loved one battling online addiction and would like a better understanding of this disease? You're not alone.
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