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Investigating the Impact of Covid-19 on Telepsychiatry Use Across Sex and Race: A Study of North Carolina Emergency Departments.
Xue, Yajiong; Saeed, Sy A; Liang, Huigang; Jones, Kathrine; Muppavarapu, Kalyan S.
  • Xue Y; Department of Management Information Systems, College of Business, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.
  • Saeed SA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.
  • Liang H; Department of Business Information and Technology, Fogelman College of Business and Economics, University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee, USA.
  • Jones K; Department of Public Health, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.
  • Muppavarapu KS; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.
Telemed J E Health ; 28(10): 1431-1439, 2022 10.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2062838
ABSTRACT

Introduction:

The COVID-19 pandemic and the intervention measures have increased mental health problems among Americans. Telepsychiatry provides a safe and efficient way to serve mental health patients in emergency departments (EDs). The objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on telepsychiatry consultations in North Carolina (NC) and analyze the differences across sex and race.

Methods:

This longitudinal observational study used data from the NC Statewide Telepsychiatry Program to examine temporal changes in ED telepsychiatry consultations from January 2019 to March 2021 (117 weeks), including 4,739 telepsychiatry consultations conducted by 27 hospitals in 24 counties in NC during the period. The outcome measures were telepsychiatry consultation counts. Weekly ED telepsychiatry consultation counts were calculated overall and stratified by sex and race.

Results:

The overall weekly ED telepsychiatry consultation counts were decreasing before the national lockdown but started increase after the lockdown. Moreover, the counts of telepsychiatry consultations for white patients had a stronger increasing trend than that for black patients. Comparing telepsychiatry counts during the lockdown period (March and April) in 2020 and the same period in 2019, male patients had higher counts while female patients had lower counts, and white patients had higher counts while black patients had lower counts.

Discussion:

It seems that the COVID-19 crisis has led to a heightening demand for telepsychiatry consultations in NC, and there is a possible race disparity in these demands between black and white mental health patients. These findings underscore the need to further develop telepsychiatry services and enhance access to black patients.
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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Psychiatry / Telemedicine / COVID-19 Type of study: Experimental Studies / Observational study / Prognostic study Limits: Female / Humans / Male Country/Region as subject: North America Language: English Journal: Telemed J E Health Journal subject: Medical Informatics / Health Services Year: 2022 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: Tmj.2021.0549

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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Psychiatry / Telemedicine / COVID-19 Type of study: Experimental Studies / Observational study / Prognostic study Limits: Female / Humans / Male Country/Region as subject: North America Language: English Journal: Telemed J E Health Journal subject: Medical Informatics / Health Services Year: 2022 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: Tmj.2021.0549