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Abstract
Rural communities in Oregon face a significant shortage of psychiatric services, both from specialists and general care providers. Telepsychiatry offers a validated and reliable solution to address these gaps and mitigate recruitment and retention challenges. However, successful implementation requires substantial investment of time and resources, making readiness assessment critical to avoid inefficiencies. This Clinical Inquiry Project (CIP) aimed to evaluate whether a modified telemedicine readiness assessment tool could determine community preparedness for telepsychiatry. One key informant from each of three rural or frontier communities completed the Modified Organizational Telehealth Readiness Assessment Tool (MOTRAT), a 48-item self-assessment survey organized into four sections. Findings from this approach may inform strategies to optimize telepsychiatry adoption in underserved areas.