From a patient care standpoint, evidence shows that patients greatly prefer seeing psychiatrists in person rather than through a tele-psychiatric visit.

Technological requirements such as cameras, microphones, computers, and software frequently make it too costly to set up telepsychiatric services, especially in rural areas.

6% of US medical students choose psychiatry as a specialty.

Telemedicine is defined as the use of electronic communications to exchange medical information from one site to another in regard to ongoing patient care management.