SOC Telemed, the nation’s largest national provider of telemedicine technology to healthcare providers, has acquired behavioral health telemedicine company JSA Health. The deal makes SOC Telemed the nation’s largest provider of telepsychiatry care, offering services to emergency departments, community health clinics, educational institutions and more.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The deal enables SOC to offer acute telepsychiatry services across more than 450 hospitals and health systems.
"JSA achieved a strong foothold in the telePsychiatry industry, but as a single specialty practice the company sought scalability that SOC Telemed supports with its proven platform and continued investments in innovation," Hammad Shah, CEO of SOC Telemed, said in a statement. "This acquisition enables growth for JSA Health–allowing the combined entity broader reach across the nation in areas experiencing detrimental shortages of psychiatrists."
Avrim Fishkind, MD, JSA Health’s founder and CEO, will join SOC in the newly created position of general manager of behavioral health services.
The telepsychiatry services could help address a growing shortage of psychiatrists, particularly in rural areas, across the country, according to SOC. And the demand for car continues to rise; nearly one in five patients in the emergency department has some sort of behavioral or mental health issue, SOC noted.
Amy joined TriMed Media as a Senior Writer for HealthExec after covering home care for three years. When not writing about all things healthcare, she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a pirate by sailing in regattas and enjoying rum. Fun fact: she sailed 333 miles across Lake Michigan in the Chicago Yacht Club "Race to Mackinac."