ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, growing mental health needs were well documented, particularly those of diverse patient populations. The current study aims to better understand racial and psychosocial factors associated with patient utilization of integrated psychological services via telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic within a diverse primary care clinic. METHODS: Retrospective chart reviews were completed for patients seen by an integrated psychology team within a general internal medicine clinic at a large urban health system during the year 2020. Demographics were extracted from the medical record. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine demographic predictors for (1) telehealth video visits vs. audio only telehealth visits and (2) in-person vs. telehealth visits (both video and audio). RESULTS: Older patients, Black patients, and those with Medicare and Medicaid were more likely to complete audio only telehealth visits vs. video visits. There were no significant demographic predictors when comparing in-person vs. telehealth (both video and audio). DISCUSSION: Some underserved and vulnerable patient populations are more likely to utilize audio-only integrated psychological visits to video visits. The utilization of audio visits over video for certain demographics speaks to the need to better understand how this type of care may benefit psychological services in the future and continued advocacy to extend audio mental health visits beyond the public health emergency to address patient populations with significant mental health needs.
ABSTRACT
Importance: In late December 2019, an outbreak caused by a novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 emerged in Wuhan, China. Data on the clinical characteristics and outcomes of infected patients in urban communities in the US are limited. Objectives: To describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and to perform a comparative analysis of hospitalized and ambulatory patient populations. Design, Setting, and Participants: This study is a case series of 463 consecutive patients with COVID-19 evaluated at Henry Ford Health System in metropolitan Detroit, Michigan, from March 9 to March 27, 2020. Data analysis was performed from March to April 2020. Exposure: Laboratory-confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection. Main Outcomes and Measures: Demographic data, underlying comorbidities, clinical presentation, complications, treatment, and outcomes were collected. Results: Of 463 patients with COVID-19 (mean [SD] age, 57.5 [16.8] years), 259 (55.9%) were female, and 334 (72.1%) were African American. Most patients (435 [94.0%]) had at least 1 comorbidity, including hypertension (295 patients [63.7%]), chronic kidney disease (182 patients [39.3%]), and diabetes (178 patients [38.4%]). Common symptoms at presentation were cough (347 patients [74.9%]), fever (315 patients [68.0%]), and dyspnea (282 patients [60.9%]). Three hundred fifty-five patients (76.7%) were hospitalized; 141 (39.7%) required intensive care unit management and 114 (80.8%) of those patients required invasive mechanical ventilation. Male sex (odds ratio [OR], 2.0; 95% CI, 1.3-3.2; P = .001), severe obesity (OR, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.4-3.6; P = .02), and chronic kidney disease (OR, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.3-3.3; P = .006) were independently associated with intensive care unit admission. Patients admitted to the intensive care unit had longer length of stay and higher incidence of respiratory failure and acute respiratory distress syndrome requiring invasive mechanical ventilation, acute kidney injury requiring dialysis, shock, and mortality (57 patients [40.4%] vs 15 patients [7.0%]) compared with patients in the general practice unit. Twenty-nine (11.2%) of those discharged from the hospital were readmitted and, overall, 20.0% died within 30 days. Male sex (OR, 1.8; 95% CI, 1.1-3.1; P = .03) and age older than 60 years (OR, 5.3; 95% CI, 2.9-9.7; P < .001) were significantly associated with mortality, whereas African American race was not (OR, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.54-1.8; P = .86). Conclusions and Relevance: In this review of urban metropolitan patients with COVID-19, most were African American with a high prevalence of comorbid conditions and high rates of hospitalization, intensive care unit admission, complications, and mortality due to COVID-19.