Satisfaction with Telepsychiatry during the COVID-19 pandemic: Patients’ and psychiatrists’ report from a University Hospital

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to important changes in the approach to patients worldwide. Different agencies have proposed and implemented telemedicine-based care services in order to ensure access to health care for all people. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the satisfaction of patients using the Telepsychiatry service offered by the Department of Psychiatry of the Hospital de Clínicas (National University of Asunción, Paraguay). Methods: A cross sectional and descriptive study has been conducted. Participants were recruited through a phone-based survey. Satisfaction with Telepsychiatry has been measured with an adapted version of a satisfaction survey in Teleneurology. As a complement, psychiatrists from the Hospital de Clínicas were also interviewed about their rate of satisfaction with Telepsychiatry. Results: A total of 530 patients were included, 51.3% of whom were women. The consultation satisfaction scale ranged between 2.15 and 4.30 with a mean score of 3.02 ± 0.32. Cronbach’s alpha for the scale was .897, indicating a good internal consistency. Patients’ satisfaction was higher for the perception of Telepsychiatry and lower for the doctor-patient relationship. Of the physicians, 87.5% were satisfied with the Telepsychiatry service. Conclusion: The satisfaction overall score indicates patients’ general satisfaction with the quality of care in Telepsychiatry, mainly regarding the perception of health care. and lower satisfaction with the doctor-patient relationship. Nine out of 10 psychiatrists felt satisfied with the Telepsychiatry service and considered that the degree of patient’s satisfaction was acceptable during the Telepsychiatry consultation.

Post-acute college student satisfaction with telepsychiatry during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Although many studies ( Andrews et al, 2020 ; Ramaswamy et al, 2020 ) report overall high levels of satisfaction with telehealth services, consistent with the present study's findings, it remains unclear whether evaluating patient satisfaction is a sufficient assessment of whether telemedicine fully meets patients' healthcare needs ( Johnson 2019 ). In some settings, lower satisfaction with televisits is not associated with differences in the quality of care ( Futterman et al, 2021 ), while in other settings, higher patient satisfaction with telepsychiatry services is actually associated with lower satisfaction with patient-provider relationships ( Torales et al, 2022 ). The present study did not formally assess how telehealth impacted the quality of service delivery, however the qualitative results do suggests that some post-acute patients are concerned about the impact of telepsychiatry on the patient-provider relationship, confidentiality, and the broader milieu of the clinical treatment setting.…”

Patient and provider experiences of telemental health during the COVID-19 pandemic in a New York City academic medical center

“…Existing literature has found patient satisfaction with telehealth to be strongly correlated to access to care ( Serhal et al, 2017 ; Torales et al, 2022 ). In our cohort, patients who earned a lower income, commuted a further distance, and had higher commute costs, were more likely to be satisfied with TMH services.…”

The effects of sustained COVID‐19 emergency and restrictions on the mental health of subjects with serious mental illness: A prospective study

“…These findings may rather suggest that subjects exposed to high rates of lifetime stressors are less prone to subjective report a worsening of symptoms (Fornaro et al, 2021), or that those who have access to mental health support in stressful situations tend to cope well (Kotlarska et al, 2021). In this respect, it should be emphasized that the telehealth service has ensured the continuity of mental health care protecting patients in our clinic as in many other facilities (Bashshur et al, 2016;Contreras et al, 2020;Hilty et al, 2013;Torales, Vilallba-Arias, et al, 2022).…”