Background A warm handoff from a physician to a mental health provider is often patients’ first contact with psychological services and provides a unique opportunity for improving treatment engagement in integrated primary care (IPC) settings. Objective In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, this study sought to examine the impact of different types of telehealth mental health referrals on both the anticipated likelihood of accepting treatment services and anticipated likelihood of continued treatment engagement. Methods A convenience sample of young adults (N=560) was randomized to view 1 of 3 video vignettes: warm handoff in IPC, referral as usual (RAU) in IPC, or RAU in standard primary care. Results Logistic associations between referral type and the likelihood of referral acceptance (χ21=10.9, P=.004) and the likelihood of continued engagement (χ21=32.6, P<.001) were significant. Participants who received a warm handoff were significantly more likely to anticipate both accepting the referral (b=0.35; P=.002; odds ratio 1.42, 95% CI 1.15-1.77) and engaging in continued treatment (b=0.62; P<.001; odds ratio 1.87, 95% CI 1.49-2.34) compared with those who received RAU in the standard primary care condition. Furthermore, 77.9% (436/560) of the sample indicated that they would be at least somewhat likely to access IPC mental health services for their own mental health concerns if they were readily available in their own primary care physician’s office. Conclusions A telehealth warm handoff resulted in the increased anticipated likelihood of both initial and continued engagement in mental health treatment. A telehealth warm handoff may have utility in fostering the uptake of mental health treatment. Nonetheless, a longitudinal assessment in a primary care clinic of the utility of a warm handoff for fostering referral acceptance and continued treatment engagement is needed to hone the adoptability of a warm handoff process and demonstrate practical evidence of effectiveness. The optimization of a warm handoff would also benefit from additional studies examining patient and provider perspectives about the factors affecting treatment engagement in IPC settings.

BACKGROUND A “warm handoff” from a physician to mental health provider is often patients’ first contact with psychological services and affords a unique opportunity for improving treatment engagement in integrated primary care (IPC) settings. OBJECTIVE In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, this study sought to examine the impact of different types of virtual mental health referrals on likelihood of accepting treatment services. METHODS A diverse sample of young adults reporting moderate levels of depression, anxiety, and unmet mental health care needs (N=560) were randomized to one of three video vignettes: a) warm handoff in IPC, b) RAU in IPC, or c) RAU in standard primary care. RESULTS Logistic associations between referral type and likelihood of referral acceptance (χ21 = 10.9, P < .01) and likelihood of continued engagement (χ21 = 32.6, P < .001) were significant. Participants who received a warm handoff were significantly more likely to both accept the referral (b = 0.35; P < .01; OR 1.42, 95% CI 1.15-1.77) and engage in continued treatment (b = 0.62; P < .001; OR 1.87, 95% CI 1.49-2.34) compared to those in the RAU in standard primary care condition. Further, 80% of the sample indicated that they would be at least somewhat likely to access IPC mental health services if they were readily available in their own primary care physician’s office. CONCLUSIONS The virtual warm handoff resulted in the increased likelihood of both initial and continued engagement in mental health treatment. Implementing a warm handoff whenever possible is encouraged. Further research regarding virtual mental health referrals is needed to elucidate the impact of the virtual context on referral acceptance and continued treatment engagement and to optimize the warm handoff for virtual settings.