Organizational and Regulatory Aspects of the Telemedicine Technologies Use in Providing Health Care to Children and Adolescents with Mental Disorders in Russian Federation

Abstract

Background: the need for remote delivery of diagnostic, treatment and correctional care has increased significantly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, at present, remote forms of care in psychiatry cause ambiguous attitudes among representatives of the medical community, and many organizational, legal and clinical-methodological issues of the use of telemedicine technologies in the provision of medical care, especially in the “patient–doctor” format, remain insufficiently developed. The purpose of this review is to analyze the scientific publications on the organization and legal regulation of telemedicine consultation in the “doctor–doctor” and “patient–doctor” formats when providing assistance to children and adolescents with mental disorders in the Russian Federation. Material and method of review: according to keywords “child psychiatry”, “health care”, “telemedicine technologies”, “regulatory acts” Russian scientific studies published between January 2016 and September 2023 presented in the databases eLibrary and PubMed were selected and analyzed. An analysis of the organizational and regulatory parameters of telemedicine consultations in the “doctor — patient (legal representative)” format and in the “doctor — doctor” format was made based on the practical activities of the Center named after G.E. Sukhareva of the Moscow Department of Health. Conclusion: the review of scientific articles confirmed the validity of telecommunication technologies use to make accessible the children’s psychiatric care, as well as for destigmatization and improvement the quality of medical care. It was shown the need to optimise the regulatory framework, to eliminate conflicting regulatory requirements for primary telemedicine consultation.