Executives from Avel eCare, a clinician-to-clinician telemedicine services provider, met with U.S. Senate staff to discuss Virtual Crisis Care, a telemedicine program that allows law enforcement to connect with behavioral health professionals in situations when citizens are having a mental health crisis.
The program provides telemedicine tablets to law enforcement agencies, allowing them to connect with trained professionals who can assess the crisis and make informed suggestions of how to deescalate situation. The goals of the program are to decriminalize behavioral health and produce safer, more productive outcomes for the individual in crisis and law enforcement, according to a June 28 news release from Avel eCare.
The briefing took place in Washington, D.C., on June 20, and the Avel representatives discussed a study that confirmed positive results of the program.
The study, conducted by the University of Iowa Rural Telemedicine Research Center, revealed a significant decrease in arrests and involuntary committals when law enforcement used the program. Additionally, the program enabled 80% percent of the individuals experiencing a mental health crisis to remain at home and access local resources, avoiding potential incarcerations or visits to the emergency department, according to the release.
Forty counties in South Dakota and areas of Nevada currently use the program, and Avel leaders are continuing to meet with legislators to expand the program to other parts of the country.