House Community Budget Issue Requests - Tracking Id #417 Telemedicine Behavioral Healthcare Network
Requester:	Tim Atkinson		Organization:		Meridian Behavioral Healthcare, Inc.
Project Title:	Telemedicine Behavioral Healthcare Network		Date Submitted:		01/11/2000 4:01:12 PM
District Member:	Dwight Stansel		Service Area:		Regional
Counties Affected:	Alachua, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Lafayette, Levy, Putnam, Suwannee, Union
Recipient:	Meridian Behavioral Healthcare, Inc.		Contact:		Tim Atkinson
	Rt. 10 Box 418		Contact Phone:		(047) 580-5558 283
	Lake City 32025
Project Description:
In collaboration with the Dept. of Children & Families (DCF), Putnam Behavioral Healthcare, the University of Florida/Shands Healthcare & Northeast Florida State Hospital (NEFSH), Meridian proposes to establish a telemedicine behavioral health network in DCF District III providing services to children and adults. Expanding on its existing network of computers and dedicated phone lines, Meridian plans to link five rural clinics with Meridian's headquaters in Gainesville, and Shands and NEFSH. Through this network, patients in clinics located throughout District III could be seen by a psychiatrist in Gainesville all on the same day without anyone traveling to or from Gainesville. Other applications, include consultations, commitment hearings and conferences with staff, patients and families at NEFSH.
Services Provided/Benefit to State:
District III of the Department of Children and Families (DCF) includes eleven counties, covers almost 6,900 square miles and comprises 13% of the land area of the state. Except for Gainesville, this region is a rural area with high levels of poverty and limited access to behavioral healthcare. Meridian and Putnam behavioral medical staff currently see 450 children & 1,850 adults per year. DCF estimates that 10,454 adults and 5,336 children in District III are in need of mental health services but not currently receiving them. Telcommunications has the capacity to overcome the barriers of time and distance. Several states, including Georgia & South Carolina, are already utilizing extensive telemedicine networks to improve and expand accessibility of behavioral healthcare services in rural areas, especially for children. This project will enlist the efficiency of telecommunications to bring behavioral healthcare services to citizens in a rural area for the first time in the state of Florida. It will also create better linkages between state hospital and families, consumers and local providers. With measurable outcomes that meet the test of accountability, the project can produce useful information for other districts and state hospitals in the application of telemedicine networks in the delivery of behavioral healthcare.
Measurable Outcome Anticipated:
Outcomes of the proposed telemedicine network will include a measurable reduction in travel time for professional staff, allowing for an increase in services actually provided. Estimates indicate a productive increase equivalent to one and one-fourth man-year for medical staff ($130,000) and three-fourths of a man - year for case managers ($22,000). Direct savings in the cost of travel are expected to amount to $23,000 per year. Additional savings are also expected to be realized in costs of staff training, case management and family consultations. Waiting time for rural patients will be significantly reduced by more flexible scheduling.
Amount requested from the State for this project this year:				$298,500
Total cost of the project:		$343,500

Request has been made to fund:			Operations and Construction
Is there Local Government or Private match for this request?						Yes
				In-Kind Amount:		$45,000
Was this project previously funded by the State?						No
Is future-year funding likely to be requested?						Yes
	Amount:	$105,000
	Purpose for future year funding:				Recurring Operations
	Will this be an annual request?					Unknown
Was this project included in an Agency's Budget Request?						No
Was this project included in the Governor's Recommended Budget?						No
Is there a documented need for this project?						Unknown
Was this project request heard before a publicly noticed meeting of a body of elected officials (municipal, county, or state)?						No