The Telepsychiatry Operational Guidelines 2020 in India: a welcome step

Abstract

The release of the Telepsychiatry Operational Guidelines 2020 in India, during the COVID-19 pandemic, is a relief for both clinicians and patients. These guidelines embark on initiating and executing naive and recently started telepsychiatry services in India. The document is aligned with other ethical regulations, policies, laws and the 2020 Telemedicine Practice Guidelines in India. This paper discusses a few points about the broader applicability of the guideline for the benefit of humankind in the prevailing healthcare crisis. The guidelines may be extrapolated in policy-making for telepsychiatry services in other low- and middle-income countries sharing a similar socioeconomic, cultural and political milieu.