When Virtual Becomes Reality

E-health includes medical help, education of the patient and of the specialist, and facilitates multidisciplinary approaches. A growing body of evidence illustrates that the developing of e-health, especially in the area of psychiatry represents a new horizon growing the access to care, the adherence to treatment, the efficiency of psycho-education, the quality of life, and also diminishes the stigmatization which is still associated with the use of mental health facilities. Unfortunately, the development of legislation regarding e-health remains behind the evolution of technology and this presentation will look into examples of standards and procedures and the need to implement these into practice. Another field approached in this presentation and which is rapidly evolving is the one of Virtual Reality (VR) as a useful tool for assessment, diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric disorders. VR is used to treat patients with anxiety disorders, especially phobia, but its use is expanding quickly into other areas of psychiatric disorders. Finally, the presentation discusses the impressive opportunities that artificial intelligence may bring into psychiatric evaluation and care. This approach may offer specialists more objective instruments when assessing the risk factors, the severity, and evolution of mental disorders.