Providing mental health care to veterans in rural areas: using telehealth in mobile clinics.

The purpose of this article is to provide information to improve the quality of care of veterans living in geographically isolated areas who require treatment for mental health issues. Because interactive care solutions are currently hot topics in the health care community, they should be viewed as possible strategies to meet the needs of this specialty group of veterans. An intervention using a mobile clinic and clinical video telehealth reduces distance barriers by making it possible for mental health specialists to come to rural veterans instead of the veteran attempting to find a way to get to the practitioner, who may be located in a clinic or hospital many miles away.

Improving the quality of care of veterans with diabetes. A simulation intervention for psychiatric nurses.

The primary objective of this study was to provide and evaluate strategies beneficial in preparing psychiatric nurses to exercise clinical judgment needed for adequate assessment and care of veterans with diabetes. Psychiatric nurses completed a pretest evaluation of their knowledge of care for veterans with diabetes. During the intervention stage, a human patient simulator was used to create an interactive scenario for participants to propose a diagnosis and administer treatment.