For outpatient clinics, expanding depression treatment services requires more than introducing a new therapy. It requires qualified psychiatric professionals, careful patient assessment, clear treatment plans, and coordination between prescribers and the team delivering care. Clinics considering ketamine or esketamine programs must bring these elements together while managing their existing services and staffing needs.
FasPsych helps healthcare organizations address the psychiatric staffing component through telepsychiatry. By connecting clinicians and patients through two-way video consultations, the company supports a model that combines remote psychiatric expertise with treatment delivered at a local healthcare facility. Its services for ketamine and esketamine programs include psychiatric evaluation, treatment planning, and ongoing medication management.
This approach gives outpatient clinics a practical way to explore additional treatment options without making every psychiatric appointment dependent on a specialist being physically present. For patients, it can mean access to specialist input within a coordinated local care pathway.
Understanding the distinction between ketamine and esketamine is essential when discussing these services. In the United States, ketamine is FDA-approved as an anesthetic, but its use for depression is off-label. Esketamine nasal spray, marketed as Spravato, is FDA-approved for specified depression indications. These medications should therefore not be described as interchangeable treatments with identical approvals.
Spravato is approved for treatment-resistant depression in adults, either alone or alongside an oral antidepressant. It is also approved, in conjunction with an oral antidepressant, for depressive symptoms in adults with major depressive disorder with acute suicidal ideation or behavior. Treatment decisions require individual clinical assessment and an understanding of the relevant prescribing information.
Within this setting, a remote psychiatric consultation serves an important purpose: determining whether a proposed treatment is appropriate for the individual patient. The consultation should be a substantive clinical encounter, allowing discussion of symptoms, previous treatment experiences, current medications, medical history, and expectations. Patients also need an opportunity to ask questions and understand the proposed plan before proceeding.
FasPsych’s approach to staffing for ketamine clinics connects facilities with licensed psychiatric providers who can support the psychiatric aspects of these programs remotely. This offers clinics an alternative to relying exclusively on recruiting and maintaining a full-time, on-site psychiatrist for every element of the service.
Successful implementation depends on defining responsibilities clearly. FasPsych describes the remote psychiatrist’s role as potentially including evaluation, candidacy screening, prescribing, medication management, protocol development, and medical director oversight. The administering clinic retains responsibility for physical treatment delivery, vital-sign monitoring, medication storage, and the necessary on-site infrastructure. Virtual psychiatric support is therefore one part of a coordinated clinical service.
For Spravato specifically, treatment must take place within its restricted Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy program. Patients require supervision and monitoring for at least two hours after administration because of risks including sedation, dissociation, and respiratory depression. A video appointment does not replace these on-site requirements.
Beyond the initial assessment, a well-organized program needs continuity. Clinics should establish how psychiatric recommendations reach the local treatment team, how concerns are escalated, and how follow-up appointments are arranged. Clear documentation helps everyone involved understand the patient’s treatment goals, response, and next steps. These operational details are especially important when professionals work across different locations.
Patient communication deserves equal attention. People considering a new depression treatment may have questions about eligibility, expected benefits, possible adverse effects, appointment schedules, and costs. Providing understandable information helps patients make informed decisions and approach treatment with realistic expectations. No program should promise that a particular therapy will work for every patient.
For healthcare organizations evaluating expansion, the central question is how to build a service that fits their patients, staffing capacity, and clinical responsibilities. Telepsychiatry can help connect specialist decision-making with local care delivery, provided both teams understand their roles and maintain reliable communication.
FasPsych offers outpatient clinics a way to incorporate remote psychiatric expertise into that process. Facilities interested in developing or strengthening a ketamine or esketamine program can explore its virtual staffing services and discuss the clinical coverage, coordination, and operational support their program requires.
