Patient Experiences With Telemental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Telemental health (TMH) was an effective and relatively well-accepted way of delivering mental health care prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and has become widely adopted through the pandemic. Although recent findings show telehealth remains relatively well accepted across health care broadly, little i...

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Main Authors: Dana Steidtmann PhD, Samantha McBride PsyD, Matthew Mishkind PhD
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2022-12-01
Series:Journal of Patient Experience
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/23743735221145077
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author Dana Steidtmann PhD
Samantha McBride PsyD
Matthew Mishkind PhD
author_facet Dana Steidtmann PhD
Samantha McBride PsyD
Matthew Mishkind PhD
author_sort Dana Steidtmann PhD
collection DOAJ
description Telemental health (TMH) was an effective and relatively well-accepted way of delivering mental health care prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and has become widely adopted through the pandemic. Although recent findings show telehealth remains relatively well accepted across health care broadly, little is known about how patient experiences of TMH may have changed through the pandemic as many sectors were virtualized. These findings describe patient experiences with TMH at an outpatient mental health clinic approximately 1 year after the clinic rapidly transitioned to full TMH due to COVID-19. Respondents are 137 adult patients. Most patients reported TMH to be extremely or very effective (85.0%) and better than anticipated (76.8%). Most patients (74.6%) were interested in continuing at least some visits by TMH after the pandemic. A small subset of patients who rated their relationship with their provider as better in-person than by TMH also reported a preference for most or all visits in-person. Results provide preliminary support that TMH remains a well-accepted option for many patients. Mental health clinics may best serve patients by offering a hybrid model of care that includes both TMH and in-person services.
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spelling doaj.art-52799672076a4376b484c2fb97f6618b2022-12-22T04:41:49ZengSAGE PublishingJournal of Patient Experience2374-37432022-12-01910.1177/23743735221145077Patient Experiences With Telemental Health During the COVID-19 PandemicDana Steidtmann PhDSamantha McBride PsyDMatthew Mishkind PhDTelemental health (TMH) was an effective and relatively well-accepted way of delivering mental health care prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and has become widely adopted through the pandemic. Although recent findings show telehealth remains relatively well accepted across health care broadly, little is known about how patient experiences of TMH may have changed through the pandemic as many sectors were virtualized. These findings describe patient experiences with TMH at an outpatient mental health clinic approximately 1 year after the clinic rapidly transitioned to full TMH due to COVID-19. Respondents are 137 adult patients. Most patients reported TMH to be extremely or very effective (85.0%) and better than anticipated (76.8%). Most patients (74.6%) were interested in continuing at least some visits by TMH after the pandemic. A small subset of patients who rated their relationship with their provider as better in-person than by TMH also reported a preference for most or all visits in-person. Results provide preliminary support that TMH remains a well-accepted option for many patients. Mental health clinics may best serve patients by offering a hybrid model of care that includes both TMH and in-person services.https://doi.org/10.1177/23743735221145077
spellingShingle Dana Steidtmann PhD
Samantha McBride PsyD
Matthew Mishkind PhD
Patient Experiences With Telemental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Journal of Patient Experience
title Patient Experiences With Telemental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic
title_full Patient Experiences With Telemental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic
title_fullStr Patient Experiences With Telemental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic
title_full_unstemmed Patient Experiences With Telemental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic
title_short Patient Experiences With Telemental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic
title_sort patient experiences with telemental health during the covid 19 pandemic
url https://doi.org/10.1177/23743735221145077
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