COVID-19, Telemedicine and Emergency Department Referrals: Patient Presentations and Follow-up Times to a Community Mental Health Team
| Autor: | M. Zubir, J. Costello, A. Ali, C. Erwins, M. Cheasty, L. Judge |
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| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2022 |
| Předmět: | |
| Zdroj: | European Psychiatry, Vol 65, Pp S206-S207 (2022) |
| Druh dokumentu: | article |
| ISSN: | 0924-9338 1778-3585 |
| DOI: | 10.1192/j.eurpsy.2022.540 |
| Popis: | Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic caused changes to how healthcare services are utilised and delivered. Objectives We examine the impact of COVID-19 on the pattern of emergency patient presentations referred on to the community mental health team and the impact of utilising telemedicine on time to follow-up. Methods We retrospectively reviewed all clinical records of patients currently attending our service. We identified presentations to the emergency department (N=119) who were subsequently referred on for mental health follow-up. Results Patients being referred to our team from emergency departments were significantly younger during, mean age 33.1 years (SD=12.3) compared to before the pandemic, mean age 40.0 years (SD=14.5), p=0.006 and a higher proportion were new patients during, 55.8%, compared to pre-pandemic period 33.3%, p=0.015. There was also a higher proportion of patients presenting with suicidal ideation and lower proportions of affective, psychosis and suicidal/self-injurious acts during the pandemic period compared to before, p=0.006. The ratio of female to male patients on the other hand were similar during both periods, p=0.853. There appeared to be no difference in median time to follow-up pre and during the pandemic (6.0 vs 5.5 days, p=0.995). Further analysis also found no significant impact on time to follow-up upon implementing telemedicine consultations, with median days to initial follow-up of 6 days pre-pandemic, 4.5 days during pandemic + prior to telemedicine and 6.5 days during pandemic + telemedicine, p=0.602. Conclusions This study provides preliminary data on the impact of COVID-19 on mental health emergency presentations and utilization of telemedicine on time to follow-up by CMHTs. Disclosure No significant relationships. |
| Databáze: | Directory of Open Access Journals |
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