Brenner Ronald, Madhusoodanan Subramoniam, Logiudice Jennifer, Castell Gina, MacKenzie Todd, O'Shaughnessy Patrick M
Associate Chairman, Department of Psychiatry, St. John's Episcopal Hospital, Far Rockaway, NY 11691 USA. E-MAIL:
Ann Clin Psychiatry. 2020 Feb;32(1):12-16.
Psychiatric consultation services, particularly for emergencies, are limited in many parts of the United States. Telepsychiatry services are helping to bridge the gap, and are gaining acceptance and popularity. There is paucity of publications regarding comparison of turnaround time for consultations between video conferencing and traditional face-to-face psychiatric consultations in general hospital nonpsychiatric emergency departments (EDs). Our study aimed to address turnaround time and patient satisfaction.
Data regarding the turnaround time for emergency psychiatric consultations using telepsychiatry in general hospital EDs was collected retrospectively and compared with the time for face-to-face traditional consultations. A patient satisfaction survey was also conducted after the telepsychiatry consultation. Statistical analysis of the data was done after the study was completed.
The telepsychiatry group included 206 participants and the control group had 186 participants. There was an 84% reduction in the turnaround time for telepsychiatry consults (95% confidence interval, 81% to 86%). A patient satisfaction survey showed 97% satisfaction with telepsychiatry services. Gender and age did not modify the effect of telepsychiatry on time to consult (P > .10).
The reduction in the turnaround time and improved patient satisfaction indicate that telepsychiatry services can improve the quality of care for patients in need of emergency services.
在美国许多地区，精神科会诊服务，尤其是急诊会诊服务有限。远程精神病学服务正在帮助填补这一空白，并越来越被接受和普及。关于综合医院非精神科急诊科视频会议会诊与传统面对面精神科会诊之间会诊周转时间比较的出版物很少。我们的研究旨在解决周转时间和患者满意度问题。
回顾性收集综合医院急诊科使用远程精神病学进行急诊精神科会诊的周转时间数据，并与面对面传统会诊的时间进行比较。在远程精神病学会诊后还进行了患者满意度调查。研究完成后对数据进行统计分析。
远程精神病学组有206名参与者，对照组有186名参与者。远程精神病学会诊的周转时间减少了84%（95%置信区间，81%至86%）。患者满意度调查显示，对远程精神病学服务的满意度为97%。性别和年龄并未改变远程精神病学对会诊时间的影响（P>.10）。
周转时间的减少和患者满意度的提高表明，远程精神病学服务可以提高需要急诊服务患者的护理质量。
