Viability of telepsychiatry - results from an ambulatory academic tertiary care clinic

Abstract

During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, telemedicine became an important method of providing patient care and minimizing person-to-person contact. For example, it has been considered a reasonable option for patients who have been discharged from the intensive care unit (ICU) and other acute settings. Previous studies have indicated that using telemedicine with psychiatry, also known as telepsychiatry, may be preferred by certain patient groups, such as rural patients. This study aims to evaluate the impact of transitioning to telepsychiatry services in response to the pandemic on patient appointment compliance of a university affiliated ambulatory clinic in Lubbock, Texas. Retrospective data on clinic appointment attendance from three separate three-month time periods (March–June 2019, December 2019–March 2020, March–June 2020) were used to determine their respective no-show prevalence. Results were analyzed with chi square testing (α = 0.05). No-show rates were significantly associated with time period (p < 0.01). No-show prevalence was lowest during the time period of using telepsychiatry in comparison to the time period immediately before the transition and in the corresponding time period of the previous year.