Sugarman D, Horvitz L,Greenfield S, Busch A. (2021). Clinicians’ perceptions of rapid scale-up of telehealth services in outpatient mental health treatment. Telemedicine and e-Health. doi: 10.1089/tmj.2020.0481
Researchers surveyed outpatient mental health and substance use disorder psychiatrists, psychologists, nurse practitioners, and social workers (n = 107) at a Massachusetts psychiatric hospital on their experiences transitioning from in-person to telehealth care during the Covid-19 pandemic. Clinical services provided included initial assessment, neuropsychological assessment, evaluation and management (E&M), and individual, group, and family therapy. Recruitment occurred via email to clinicians with a link to an online survey. The majority of clinicians agreed or strongly agreed that they were able to treat patient needs well through telehealth (71%–88%: researchers grouped clinician responses by clinical service provided and responses varied by service) and that telehealth allowed them to build rapport with each patient (67%–88%). While most E&M clinicians (59%) and individual therapy clinicians (51%) felt that telehealth visits allowed them to meet patient needs equally well or better than in-person visits, half or more of neuropsychological assessment clinicians (75%), group therapy clinicians (53%), and family therapy clinicians (50%) reported that telehealth visits did not allow them to meet patient needs as well as in-person visits. Clinicians observed that telehealth improved access to care for patients with logistical barriers (e.g., long distance, dependent on others for transportation), competing demands (e.g., work schedule, childcare responsibilities), mobility difficulties, medical concerns, and condition-related vulnerabilities (e.g., agoraphobia). Transitioning to telehealth made caring for patients with specific psychiatric characteristics (e.g., psychosis, high distractibility), high symptom severity, or low social skills more difficult. Interest in continuing to use telehealth once in-person visits resume was highest among E&M clinicians (71%) and lowest among group therapy clinicians (50%) and initial assessment clinicians (51%).