Oblath Rachel, Twohy Eileen, Higdon Claudine, Duncan Alison, Folk Johanna B, Schiel Marissa A, Grewal Seena, Hawks Jessica L, Martinez William, Coble Kelly, Edwards Sarah, Goetz Amy, Ramtekkar Ujjwal, Kulkarni Chetana A, Khan Shabana, Doan Bridget T, Nallapula Kishan, Fornari Victor, Fortuna Lisa R, Myers Kathleen
Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston Medical Center.
University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle Children's Hospital.
JAACAP Open. 2023 Nov;1(3):218-229. doi: 10.1016/j.jaacop.2023.08.003. Epub 2023 Aug 28.
To document the experience of 14 academic child and adolescent psychiatry programs in transitioning to and managing telehealth services during the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal was to understand how programs adopted and sustained telehealth during the pandemic. Telehealth was defined as services delivered via videoconferencing and telephony.
In this descriptive study, faculty from 14 programs completed online surveys about the use of both telehealth and in-person services from February 2020 to June 2021. Survey questions addressed telehealth practices (e.g., policies, support resources), monthly service utilization, telehealth modality (videoconferencing vs. telephony), and missed appointments.
Programs varied in the proportion of appointments delivered by telehealth prior to the pandemic (February 2020; 0-27%). By May 2020 all programs were providing a majority of visits via telehealth (64-100%). In June 2021, all programs continued to provide services via telehealth (41% to 100%) and reported that they would continue to do so moving forward. Programs addressed many challenges to telehealth provision during the study period, including adding interpreter services, technological support for providers and patients, and formalizing safety and training requirements.
Academic child and adolescent psychiatry programs provided outpatient services primarily via telehealth throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and reported that they planned to continue utilizing telehealth in combination with in-person services moving forward. Academic programs should therefore address logistical, technological, and financial barriers to the sustained use of telehealth.
记录14个儿童与青少年精神病学学术项目在向远程医疗服务过渡并在2019年冠状病毒病大流行期间管理这些服务方面的经验。目标是了解各项目在大流行期间如何采用并维持远程医疗服务。远程医疗被定义为通过视频会议和电话提供的服务。
在这项描述性研究中，来自14个项目的教员完成了关于2020年2月至2021年6月期间远程医疗和面对面服务使用情况的在线调查。调查问题涉及远程医疗实践（如政策、支持资源）、每月服务利用率、远程医疗模式（视频会议与电话）以及预约失约情况。
在大流行之前（2020年2月），各项目通过远程医疗提供的预约比例各不相同（0 - 27%）。到2020年5月，所有项目都通过远程医疗提供了大部分就诊服务（64% - 100%）。在2021年6月，所有项目继续通过远程医疗提供服务（41%至100%），并报告称未来将继续这样做。在研究期间，各项目应对了远程医疗提供过程中的许多挑战，包括增加口译服务、为提供者和患者提供技术支持以及规范安全和培训要求。
儿童与青少年精神病学学术项目在整个2019年冠状病毒病大流行期间主要通过远程医疗提供门诊服务，并报告称他们计划在未来继续将远程医疗与面对面服务结合使用。因此，学术项目应解决远程医疗持续使用的后勤、技术和财务障碍。
