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. 2023 Apr;48(2):347-352.
doi: 10.1007/s10900-022-01175-4. Epub 2022 Dec 1.

Remote Consultations for Mental Health: Patient Experiences

Cleo L Crunelle  1 , Tom Van Daele  2 , Sven Van Laere  3 , Stefaan Blancke  4 , Nathalie Vanderbruggen  5 , Frieda Matthys  5
Affiliations

Remote Consultations for Mental Health: Patient Experiences

Cleo L Crunelle et al. J Community Health. 2023 Apr.

Abstract

Objective: 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.

Methods: 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.

Results: 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.

Conclusion: 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.

Keywords: COVID-19; mental health; patient experience; remote care.

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Conflict of interest statement

All authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flowchart with overview of included study participants
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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