Clinician Satisfaction with Rapid Adoption and Implementation of Telehealth Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

To examine clinician perspectives on the acceptability, appropriateness/suitability, and feasibility of video telehealth as a way to deliver mental health services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mental health clinicians were surveyed with 27 Likert questions, using previously validated measures, on satisfaction and implementation experience with video telehealth visits between March and June 2020. A total of 112 of 193 clinicians completed the survey (58.0%), including psychiatrists, psychologists, trainees (i.e., residents and fellows), advanced practice providers, and licensed mental health counselors. Clinicians reported high levels of acceptability, feasibility, and appropriateness of video telehealth; they also reported high levels of satisfaction with video telehealth visits. Seventy-nine and a half (79.5%) reported that their patients seemed highly satisfied with video telehealth visits, and 107 (95.5%) of clinicians responded that they would like video telehealth visits to represent at least 25% of their practice in the future. Mental health clinicians showed positive attitudes toward the implementation of video telehealth visits, high levels of satisfaction with this care, and indicated strong interest in continuing this modality as a significant portion of clinical practice. This study demonstrates the ability of mental health clinicians to embrace new technology to expand access to care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results indicate that telemental health is likely to be an integral part of clinic practice in the future.