Departement of Psychiatry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel (UZ Brussel), Laarbeeklaan 101, 1090, Brussels, Belgium.
Expertise Unit Psychology, Technology & Society, Thomas More University of Applied Sciences, Molenstraat 8, 2018, Antwerp, Belgium.
J Community Health. 2023 Apr;48(2):347-352. doi: 10.1007/s10900-022-01175-4. Epub 2022 Dec 1.
An exponential implementation of remote mental health care has been observed, but little data is available on experiences and barriers of remote health from a patient's perspective. This study investigated experiences associated with several forms of remote consultations (both telephone and online video) for mental health care during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic with a particular focus on patients' experiences.
This study includes results of an online web-based survey filled in by 512 patients on the use and experiences of remote mental health consultations and circulating between March and October 2021.
Psychiatric consultations were initiated by the health care provider in 47.0% of cases, while psychological consultations were most often initiated in shared decision with the patient (54.9%). Only 28.8% of participants mentioned advantages regarding teleconsultations over face-to-face, compared to 39.3% for online video consultations. Moreover, 49.3% saw clear disadvantages for teleconsultations and 32.7% for video consultations. Positive factors associated with remote mental health care included when faced with transportation problems, followed by consultations primarily focusing on medication (for telephone consultations) or on more practical aspects (for video consultations). 25.0% of patients deemed conversations when being angry or sad to be feasible by telephone, and 33.0% considered these feasibly using video consultations.
Remote consultations were deemed feasible, but the positive factors did not seem to outweigh the face-to-face contacts from a patient's perspective. Remote consultations will probably remain present in the following decades, although care must be taken when providing the possibility of remote mental health care.
远程心理健康护理呈指数级发展，但从患者角度来看，有关远程健康的经验和障碍的数据很少。本研究调查了在 COVID-19 冠状病毒大流行期间，几种形式的远程心理咨询（电话和在线视频）的相关经验，特别关注患者的体验。
本研究包括对 512 名患者在线填写的远程心理健康咨询使用和体验的调查结果，调查于 2021 年 3 月至 10 月期间进行。
医疗保健提供者发起的精神科咨询占 47.0%，而心理科咨询通常是与患者共同决策发起的（54.9%）。与面对面咨询相比，只有 28.8%的参与者提到远程咨询有优势，而在线视频咨询的比例为 39.3%。此外，49.3%的人认为远程咨询有明显的劣势，32.7%的人认为视频咨询有明显的劣势。与远程心理健康护理相关的积极因素包括在面临交通问题时，其次是主要关注药物治疗（电话咨询）或更实际方面（视频咨询）的咨询。25.0%的患者认为在生气或悲伤时通过电话进行对话是可行的，33.0%的患者认为通过视频咨询也可行。
远程咨询被认为是可行的，但从患者的角度来看，积极因素似乎没有超过面对面的接触。尽管在提供远程心理健康护理的可能性时必须谨慎行事，但远程咨询在未来几十年可能仍会存在。
