Telemedicine in psychiatric care in the community and its satisfaction by outpatients during the COVID-19 outbreak in St. Petersburg, Russia

Abstract

The process of reorganizing psychiatric day clinics to telecommunication services during the COVID-19 pandemic in St. Petersburg, Russia, is described in this article. This study aims to provide a brief assessment of outpatient psychiatric care in the community users feedback about the technical availability and satisfaction of new telemedicine services provided. 151 patients with mental disorders filled out a short structured questionnaire. All the patients surveyed received outpatient psychiatric treatment at day centers in the first two weeks of May 2020. This study demonstrated a high degree of satisfaction in telemedicine services among users of psychiatric care. It was found that majority of patients were technically ready to switch to telepsychiatry care, and had a positive feedback about the use of the service. Based on the authors of the article experience, telepsychiatry proved to be the accessible mean of providing outpatient psychiatric care during the current COVID-19 pandemic.