Medicaid Costs and Outcomes for Patients Treated in an Outpatient Telepsychiatry Clinic

In this cross-sectional study of 5372 patients, use of an outpatient telepsychiatry clinic's services was associated with decreases in inpatient hospitalization rates and lower rates of admissions from the emergency department, with similar costs to Medicaid. These findings suggest that outpatient telepsychiatry care could play an important role in reducing hospital admissions among patients enrolled in Medicaid.