DAVIE, Fla. – Depression affects an estimated 16 million Americans and recent federal data shows that tele-health is creating much needed access to highly sought after services.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services, about 40 percent of all behavior healthcare is being delivered through tele-health including therapy, addiction counseling, mental health screening and anxiety and depression monitoring.
Psychiatrist Dr. Andrew Migliaccio, Director of the Memorial Outpatient Behavioral Health Center, said the key benefit of tele-mental health is accessibility.
“I mean people may have been hesitant to access care before because they’ve got childcare at home, they’ve got jobs and it’s hard to part out time in their schedules to make it to appointments so when we’re looking at in office visits we’re seeing a very high no show rate, when we’re looking at tele-health visits, people are making it to their appointments,” Migliaccio said.
Sept. 17 through Sept. 23, 2023, marks National Tele-health Awareness Week.
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HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE DANGERS
The World Health Organization is warning about the dangerous effects of high blood pressure.
In a new report, the W.H.O. said the condition, also known as hypertension, is one of the world’s leading risk factors for death and disability.
It effects 33 percent of adults around the globe, but it can be effectively treated.
In fact, if controlled the W.H.O. said 76 million deaths could be prevented between 2023 and 2030.
High blood pressure often leads to other health problems including, stroke, heart attack, heart failure, and kidney damage.