| Literature DB >> 34716823 |
Mara Eyllon1, J Ben Barnes2, Karen Daukas3, Meagan Fair4, Samuel S Nordberg3.
Abstract
Covid-19 has led to an unprecedented shift to telemental health (TMH) in mental healthcare. This study examines the impact of this transition on visit adherence for mental health services in an integrated behavioral health department. Monthly visit data for 12,245 patients from January, 2019 to January, 2021 was extracted from the electronic medical record. Interrupted time series (ITS) analysis examined the impact of the Covid-19 transition to TMH on immediate level and trend changes in the percentage of cancelled visits and no shows in the 10 months following the transition. ITS also compared changes across the three largest services types: adult, pediatric, and substance use. Following the TMH-transition, completed visits increased by 10% amounting to an additional 3644 visits. In April, 2020, immediately following the TMH-transition, no shows increased by 1.4%, (95% CI 0.1, 2.7, p < 0.05) and cancellations fell by 13.5% (95% CI - 17.9, - 9.0, p < 0.001). Across the 10-month post-TMH period, 18.2% of visits were cancelled, compared to 28.3% across the 14-month pre-TMH period. The proportion of no-shows remained the same. The pattern was similar for pediatric and adult sub-clinics, but no significant changes in cancellations or no shows were observed in the substance use sub-clinic. TMH during the Covid-19 pandemic is associated with improved visit adherence over time and may be a promising model for improving the efficiency of mental health care delivery once it is safe to resume in person care.Entities:
Keywords: Behavioral health; COVID-19; Mental health; Telehealth; Telemedicine; Telemental health
Mesh:
Year: 2021 PMID: 34716823 PMCID: PMC8556819 DOI: 10.1007/s10488-021-01175-x
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Adm Policy Ment Health ISSN: 0894-587X
Average monthly scheduled visits, cancellations, and no shows
| Scheduled visits | Cancellations | No shows | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-TMH | Post-TMH | Pre-TMH | Post-TMH | Pre-TMH | Post-TMH | |||||
| n | n | n | % | n | % | N | % | N | % | |
| All | 3505.07 | 4833.60 | 991.71 | 28.3 | 879.00 | 18.2 | 316.71 | 9.0 | 441.00 | 9.1 |
| Adult | 2389.43 | 3054.80 | 663.57 | 27.8 | 527.30 | 17.3 | 211.50 | 8.9 | 250.60 | 8.2 |
| Pediatric | 871.43 | 1199.30 | 264.14 | 30.3 | 221.80 | 18.5 | 76.50 | 8.8 | 103.70 | 8.6 |
| Substance use | 244.21 | 579.50 | 64.00 | 26.2 | 129.90 | 22.4 | 28.71 | 11.8 | 86.70 | 15.0 |
Level and trend changes across TMH-transition across combined sub-clinics
| Outcome | B-coefficient | Lower limit 95% confidence interval | Upper limit 95% confidence interval | p value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| % Cancelled visits | ||||
| Baseline trend | 0.24 | − 0.34 | 0.82 | 0.399 |
| Level change | − 13.46 | − 17.89 | − 9.03 | < 0.001 |
| Trend change | 0.21 | − 0.43 | 0.85 | 0.509 |
| % No shows | ||||
| Baseline trend | 0.11 | − 0.01 | 0.23 | 0.065 |
| Level change | 1.43 | 0.12 | 2.73 | 0.033 |
| Trend change | − 0.59 | − 0.78 | − 0.39 | < 0.001 |
Calculated with Newey-West standard errors
Fig. 1Time series of % Cancellations for all Sub-clinics Combined. Lines linear trend. Vertical dashed line indicates the transition to TMH
Fig. 2Time series of % No Shows for all Sub-clinics Combined. Lines linear trend. Vertical dashed line indicates the transition to TMH
Level and trend changes across TMH-transition by sub-clinic
| Outcome | Adult | Pediatric | Substance use | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B | Lower limit 95% CI | Upper limit 95% CI | p value | B | Lower limit 95% CI | Upper limit 95% CI | p value | B | Lower limit 95% CI | Upper limit 95% CI | p-value | |
| % Cancelled visits | ||||||||||||
| Baseline trend | − 0.04 | − 0.44 | 0.37 | 0.850 | − 0.28 | − 0.66 | 0.11 | 0.153 | 0.09 | − 0.71 | 0.89 | 0.822 |
| Level change | − 12.87 | − 16.99 | − 8.74 | < 0.001 | − 11.96 | − 16.16 | − 7.76 | < 0.001 | − 6.46 | − 13.51 | 0.59 | 0.070 |
| Trend change | 0.61 | 0.11 | 1.11 | 0.020 | 0.68 | 0.12 | 1.25 | 0.020 | 0.33 | − 0.95 | 1.61 | 0.598 |
| % No shows | ||||||||||||
| Baseline trend | 0.12 | 0.03 | 0.22 | 0.015 | 0.05 | − 0.08 | 0.18 | 0.423 | 0.14 | − 0.26 | 0.55 | 0.471 |
| Level change | 1.18 | − 0.01 | 2.38 | 0.052 | 1.69 | − 0.14 | 3.52 | 0.069 | 1.41 | − 3.32 | 6.13 | 0.542 |
| Trend change | − 0.73 | − 0.93 | − 0.52 | < 0.001 | − 0.54 | − 0.79 | − 0.30 | < 0.001 | 0.02 | − 0.57 | 0.60 | 0.951 |
Calculated with Newey-West standard errors
| Adult sub-clinic | Pediatric sub-clinic | Substance Use BH sub-clinic | Unique patients across sub-clinics c | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | % (SD) | 2020 | % (SD) | 2019 | % (SD) | 2020 | % (SD) | 2019 | % (SD) | 2020 | % (SD) | 2019 | % (SD) | 2020 | % (SD) | |
| Total patients | 7760 | 8497 | 2685 | 3529 | 195 | 484 | 10,515 | 12,245 | ||||||||
| Sex | ||||||||||||||||
| Female | 5211 | 67.15 | 5918 | 69.65 | 1406 | 52.36 | 2037 | 57.72 | 65 | 33.33 | 214 | 44.21 | 6635 | 63.10 | 8029 | 65.57 |
| Male | 2548 | 32.84 | 2577 | 30.33 | 1277 | 47.56 | 1491 | 42.25 | 130 | 66.67 | 270 | 55.79 | 3877 | 36.87 | 4213 | 34.41 |
| Nonbinary | 1 | 0.01 | 2 | 0.02 | 2 | 0.07 | 1 | 0.03 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 3 | 0.03 | 3 | 0.02 |
| Age, mean (SD) | 44 | 16.32 | 42 | 16.02 | 12 | 5 | 12 | 5 | 44 | 13 | 44 | 13 | 43 | 16.52 | 41 | 16.03 |
| Race | ||||||||||||||||
| White | 5653 | 72.85 | 6015 | 70.79 | 1776 | 66.15 | 2307 | 65.37 | 145 | 74.36 | 349 | 72.11 | 7486 | 71.19 | 8476 | 69.22 |
| Asian | 113 | 1.46 | 118 | 1.39 | 88 | 3.28 | 127 | 3.60 | 3 | 1.54 | 3 | 0.62 | 202 | 1.92 | 246 | 2.01 |
| Black | 224 | 2.89 | 226 | 2.66 | 88 | 3.28 | 110 | 3.12 | 6 | 3.08 | 14 | 2.89 | 312 | 2.97 | 340 | 2.78 |
| Other | 143 | 1.84 | 156 | 1.84 | 89 | 3.31 | 105 | 2.98 | 4 | 2.05 | 11 | 2.27 | 233 | 2.22 | 267 | 2.18 |
| Missing | 1627 | 20.97 | 1982 | 23.33 | 644 | 23.99 | 880 | 24.94 | 37 | 18.97 | 107 | 22.11 | 2282 | 21.70 | 2916 | 23.81 |
| Ethnicity | 8497 | |||||||||||||||
| Hispanic | 494 | 6.37 | 496 | 5.84 | 330 | 12.29 | 426 | 12.07 | 13 | 6.67 | 27 | 5.58 | 829 | 7.88 | 935 | 7.64 |
| Non-Hispanic | 4505 | 58.05 | 4850 | 57.08 | 1386 | 51.62 | 1769 | 50.13 | 123 | 63.08 | 278 | 57.44 | 5936 | 56.45 | 6739 | 55.03 |
| Missing | 2761 | 35.58 | 3151 | 37.08 | 969 | 36.09 | 1334 | 37.80 | 59 | 30.26 | 179 | 36.98 | 3750 | 35.66 | 4571 | 37.33 |
| Insurance typea | ||||||||||||||||
| Private | 6115 | 78.80 | 7224 | 85.02 | 2360 | 87.89 | 3169 | 89.80 | 104 | 53.33 | 400 | 82.64 | 8522 | 81.05 | 10,566 | 86.29 |
| Medicaid | 120 | 1.55 | 49 | 0.58 | 148 | 5.51 | 71 | 2.01 | 14 | 7.18 | 64 | 13.22 | 282 | 2.68 | 184 | 1.50 |
| Medicare | 1064 | 13.71 | 866 | 10.19 | 14 | 0.52 | 9 | 0.26 | 21 | 10.77 | 37 | 7.64 | 1090 | 10.37 | 900 | 7.35 |
| Self-pay | 2170 | 27.96 | 1898 | 22.34 | 858 | 42.50 | 839 | 23.77 | 154 | 78.97 | 208 | 42.98 | 3101 | 29.49 | 2877 | 23.50 |
| Mental health diagnosesb | ||||||||||||||||
| Depressive disorder | 2247 | 28.96 | 2615 | 30.78 | 403 | 15.01 | 586 | 16.61 | 30 | 15.38 | 97 | 20.04 | 2669 | 25.38 | 3268 | 26.69 |
| Bipolar disorders and manic episodes | 333 | 4.29 | 402 | 4.73 | 32 | 1.19 | 38 | 1.08 | 3 | 1.54 | 13 | 2.69 | 368 | 3.50 | 449 | 3.67 |
| Anxiety isorders | 2414 | 31.11 | 3573 | 42.05 | 917 | 34.15 | 1280 | 36.27 | 26 | 13.33 | 93 | 19.21 | 3352 | 31.88 | 4916 | 40.15 |
| Obsessive compulsive disorder | 110 | 1.42 | 138 | 1.62 | 71 | 2.64 | 87 | 2.47 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 0.21 | 182 | 1.73 | 226 | 1.85 |
| Stress related disorders | 2000 | 25.77 | 2736 | 32.20 | 654 | 24.36 | 1076 | 30.49 | 10 | 5.13 | 50 | 10.33 | 2663 | 25.33 | 3844 | 31.39 |
| Psychotic disorders | 65 | 0.84 | 67 | 0.79 | 4 | 0.15 | 3 | 0.09 | 0 | 0.00 | 6 | 1.24 | 69 | 0.66 | 75 | 0.61 |
| Alcohol use and dependence | 383 | 4.94 | 423 | 4.98 | 4 | 0.15 | 3 | 0.09 | 79 | 40.51 | 396 | 81.82 | 438 | 4.17 | 645 | 5.27 |
| Substance use and dependence | 297 | 3.83 | 275 | 3.24 | 18 | 0.67 | 19 | 0.54 | 60 | 30.77 | 177 | 36.57 | 360 | 3.42 | 430 | 3.51 |
| Attention/hyperactivity | 312 | 4.02 | 419 | 4.93 | 514 | 19.14 | 489 | 13.86 | 7 | 3.59 | 17 | 3.51 | 834 | 7.93 | 926 | 7.56 |
| Other | 866 | 11.16 | 964 | 11.35 | 188 | 7.00 | 190 | 5.38 | 10 | 5.13 | 38 | 7.85 | 1061 | 10.09 | 1188 | 9.70 |