Telepsychiatry in the Canary Islands: user acceptance and satisfaction

A telepsychiatry service, using ISDN videoconferencing, was established to provide psychiatric consultations for the population of El Hierro, the most westerly of the Canary Islands. During the first year of routine operation, a total of 40 patients had 40 initial and 126 follow-up teleconsultations. The main reason for the consultation identified in the general practitioner's referral form was to establish a diagnosis (60% of patients); the second most common reason was the management of a patient previously diagnosed (20% of patients). According to the results of a questionnaire survey, patients' acceptance of and satisfaction with the technology were high. In their first teleconsultation, about a third of them said that they experienced some initial inconvenience, but this disappeared after a few minutes. Ninety per cent of the patients considered that they received the follow-up care they required. Telepsychiatry was considered by physicians and patients as an adequate vehicle for mental health-care.