Reactions of psychiatric patients to telepsychiatry

Abstract

Telepsychiatry could offer a viable medical service to remote or isolated social communities if it does not generate adverse reactions such as delusional ideation, particularly in patients in settlements without adequate exposure to mainstream culture and internet. We examined subjective reactions to telepsychiatry of randomly selected 84 psychiatric patients from remote locations in Ontario, Canada. They rated the quality of their teleconferencing sessions via 10 item questionnaire and were asked about advantages and disadvantages of telepsychiatry. The majority of patients indicated that they were able to communicate as if physically present (92.9%) and were comfortable with telepsychiatric service (95.2%). They found the sessions as beneficial as direct meetings with their psychiatrist (84.5%) and would use this service again (98.8%). There were no instances of telepsychiatry being associated with adverse reactions in patients from remote communities with inadequate exposure to modern mainstream culture and internet.

Digital psychiatry and COVID-19: the Big Bang effect for the NHS?

“…However, the (few) studies on the topic tend to report overall high levels of satisfaction with digital consultations, 23 including for children and adolescents. 15 , 24 …”

Telepsychiatry during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Telepsych is insufficient when the technology does not allow mental health providers to meet established clinical standards, and it may not be useful for high-needs clients or those with complex symptom presentations. 15 In addition, some patients may not have access to a technological device, such as a computer or smartphone, or internet access, which would force the telemedicine visit to take place via a traditional phone, further limiting the ability to perform a complete assessment.…”

Telehealth in Psychiatric Nursing Education: Lessons From the Field

“…The types of services offered range from prescribing psychotropic medications (Cain & Sharp, 2016) to psychotherapy (Stubbings, Rees, & Roberts, 2015) for conditions such as posttraumatic stress disorder (Yuen et al, 2015), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (Meyers, Stoep, Zhou, McCarty, & Cayton, 2015), and opioid use disorder (Zheng et al, 2017). Provider (Cunningham, Connors, Lever, & Stephan, 2013) and patient (Campbell, O'Gorman, & Cernovsky, 2015) reactions to telepsychiatry have been, overall, positive.…”