# Comparison of Asynchronous Telepsychiatry Alongside Synchronous Telepsychiatry in Skilled Nursing Facilities (CATALYST)

> **NIH AHRQ R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS · 2021 · $398,030

## Abstract

Comparison of Asynchronous Telepsychiatry vs. Synchronous Telepsychiatry in Skilled
Nursing Facilities (CATeleST)
ABSTRACT
Access to psychiatric consultation is a critical problem in Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs), especially
in rural settings. This SNF study population is an AHRQ priority population including people with
chronic care needs and end-of-life healthcare, and also meets the Healthy People 2020 key topics of
dementia and mood disorders in older adults. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services
(CMS) recognizes this problem and reimburses for Synchronous Telepsychiatry (STP) in rural
settings, but not in metropolitan regions. Many facilities struggle with access to psychiatrists and
several have contracted with our health system to provide STP services. Despite the availability of
STP, it is underutilized due to administrative barriers.
Asynchronous Telepsychiatry (ATP) utilizes recorded video transmitted and stored through encrypted
data portals and allows for a more timely and flexible delivery of high-quality psychiatric
consultations. ATP is more patient-centered because nursing facility staff and family members
participate actively in the interviewing and video-recording processes. By addressing psychiatric
symptoms that would otherwise be untreated until emergency or inpatient treatment is needed, ATP
may improve health care quality (AHRQ Priority #1) and SNF residents' quality-of-life In 2015, we
obtained an internal grant and designed study protocols (approved by the UC Davis IRB) that have
allowed us to complete a pilot study to test the methodology and feasibility of using ATP in SNFs for
this trial. We have successfully completed 20 ATP and 20 STP baseline evaluations at two SNF
sites. We found both ATP and STP lead to reductions of inappropriate antipsychotic medication
usage and therefore improved patient safety (AHRQ Priority #2).
As we have successfully piloted the procedures necessary to compare ATP vs. STP in SNF
populations, we now plan to conduct a large scale comparative study of ATP vs. STP (n=250) in
order to test our hypothesis that ATP is as clinically effective as STP but is more accessible,
administratively simple and cost-effective. We plan to collaborate with 6 SNFs and follow each
participant for a total of 12 months in this 5 year study.
1

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10167766
- **Project number:** 5R01HS025395-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS
- **Principal Investigator:** Glen Xiong
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** AHRQ
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $398,030
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-08-01 → 2023-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10167766

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10167766, Comparison of Asynchronous Telepsychiatry Alongside Synchronous Telepsychiatry in Skilled Nursing Facilities (CATALYST) (5R01HS025395-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10167766. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*