Inside STAT: Telemedicine is helping to fix North Dakota’s lack of psychiatrists

MIKE REDDY FOR STAT

In rural states like North Dakota, the national shortage of psychiatrists feels particularly dire. But that has started to change since North Dakota began offering telemedicine as a way to connect more patients with the help they need. It's also offered a new option to providers who might not want to move to rural areas to provide care. They can live in big cities — or even move out of state — and deliver mental health care through video calls. The University of North Dakota’s medical school has even started training its psychiatry residents to treat rural patients by computer. STAT’s Megan Thielking has more here.