"What we're doing is a telepsychiatry service. We do live psychiatric interviews and provide consultation for these patients who are referred by medical staff."
The telepsychiatry service was piloted by Al-Nuaimi in 2013, based loosely on the previous efforts of Maher Saqqur, an Edmonton neurologist and Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry member who uses Skype to help Syrian patients. Since then, Al-Nuaimi's efforts have expanded to include six psychiatrists from across North America.
"Already we're more than what is in Syria," he says.
Though speaking to patients over the computer has challenges, the psychiatry resident says the program has already proven its worth. He recounts the success he saw while treating a young Syrian girl who had suffered a gunshot wound to the head while playing on a swing. Both he and Saqqur treated the girl in person, and then later over Skype.
[For more of this story, written by Ross Neitz, go to http://medicalxpress.com/news/...tal-health-afar.html]
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