Telehealth 2.0: Providing Continuity of Behavioral Health Clinical Care to Patients Using Mobile Devices

This project aimed to use mobile technology to leverage telehealth services as a means to maximize the continuity-of-care that the military healthcare system (MHS) can provide to Service Members when they are temporarily relocated due to military service requirements, but require and are engaged in behavioral health (BH)services. The effort focused on utilization of the patients personal mobile device in an approved, secure fashion to maintain the established therapeutic relationships with their BH provider(s) during an outside the continental United States (OCONUS) temporary duty assignment (TDY) using a relational model of care delivery to complete a course of treatment that the patient sought out prior to being reassigned. There were four specific aims to this research effort: (1) develop the required technology enhancements to the existing mobile health (mHealth) product to support this project (2) to test the feasibility of the mobile interface for patient use; (3) to establish the acceptability of this technology approach with BH providers; and (4) deploy and evaluate the technology solution in a clinical context. As a result of this project lessons learned have emerged, particularly in regards to current connectivity limitations connecting behind the .mil network, port and firewall setting discrepancies between networks and recommendations to the Program Office with what needs to occur to continue the groundwork of secure provider desktop VTC behind the .mil firewall to a patients mobile device.