Background and purpose: Telemedicine programshave been implemented and evaluatedby various military organizations to improve veterans' access to specialized health care. The purpose of this study was to compare the requirements of military telemental health-care servicesin selected countries. Materials and methods: Inthis descriptive-comparative studywe compared the needs formilitary telemental health-care servicesin USA, Australia, Canada, and Iran. Data was collected by searching library resources, publications and the United States Department of Veterans Affairs websiteandanalyzedusing comparative tables. Results: USA, Australia and Canada have wisely taken advantage of military telemental health services regularly.But in Iran no practical use of this technology was observed and only phone services known as voice consultantis appliedfor veterans. Conclusion: According thesuccessful experience of some countries in usingtelemental health-care servicesit is believed that this technology couldincrease the quality of services and reduces unnecessary refers to military medical centers.

Keywords: Telemedicine, telemental health, veterans

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