TY - JOUR
T1 - Telepsychiatry During the COVID-19 Pandemic
T2 - Development of a Protocol for Telemental Health Care
AU - Ramalho, Rodrigo
AU - Adiukwu, Frances
AU - Gashi Bytyçi, Drita
AU - El Hayek, Samer
AU - Gonzalez-Diaz, Jairo M.
AU - Larnaout, Amine
AU - Grandinetti, Paolo
AU - Nofal, Marwa
AU - Pereira-Sanchez, Victor
AU - Pinto da Costa, Mariana
AU - Ransing, Ramdas
AU - Teixeira, Andre Luiz Schuh
AU - Shalbafan, Mohammadreza
AU - Soler-Vidal, Joan
AU - Syarif, Zulvia
AU - Orsolini, Laura
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© Copyright © 2020 Ramalho, Adiukwu, Gashi Bytyçi, El Hayek, Gonzalez-Diaz, Larnaout, Grandinetti, Nofal, Pereira-Sanchez, Pinto da Costa, Ransing, Teixeira, Shalbafan, Soler-Vidal, Syarif and Orsolini.
PY - 2020/9/23
Y1 - 2020/9/23
N2 - Background: The rapid spread of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has forced most countries to take drastic public health measures, including the closure of most mental health outpatient services and some inpatient units. This has suddenly created the need to adapt and expand telepsychiatry care across the world. However, not all health care services might be ready to cope with this public health demand. The present study was set to create a practical and clinically useful protocol for telemental health care to be applied in the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A panel of psychiatrists from 15 different countries [covering all World Health Organization (WHO) regions] was convened. The panel used a combination of reactive Delphi technique and consensus development conference strategies to develop a protocol for the provision of telemental health care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: The proposed protocol describes a semi-structured initial assessment and a series of potential interventions matching mild, moderate, or high-intensity needs of target populations. Conclusions: Telemedicine has become a pivotal tool in the task of ensuring the continuous provision of mental health care for the population, and the outlined protocol can assist with this task. The strength of this protocol lies in its practicality, clinical usefulness, and wide transferability, resulting from the diversity of the consensus group that developed it. Developed by psychiatrists from around the globe, the proposed protocol may prove helpful for many clinical and cultural contexts, assisting mental health care providers worldwide.
AB - Background: The rapid spread of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has forced most countries to take drastic public health measures, including the closure of most mental health outpatient services and some inpatient units. This has suddenly created the need to adapt and expand telepsychiatry care across the world. However, not all health care services might be ready to cope with this public health demand. The present study was set to create a practical and clinically useful protocol for telemental health care to be applied in the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A panel of psychiatrists from 15 different countries [covering all World Health Organization (WHO) regions] was convened. The panel used a combination of reactive Delphi technique and consensus development conference strategies to develop a protocol for the provision of telemental health care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: The proposed protocol describes a semi-structured initial assessment and a series of potential interventions matching mild, moderate, or high-intensity needs of target populations. Conclusions: Telemedicine has become a pivotal tool in the task of ensuring the continuous provision of mental health care for the population, and the outlined protocol can assist with this task. The strength of this protocol lies in its practicality, clinical usefulness, and wide transferability, resulting from the diversity of the consensus group that developed it. Developed by psychiatrists from around the globe, the proposed protocol may prove helpful for many clinical and cultural contexts, assisting mental health care providers worldwide.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85092202325&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85092202325&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.552450
DO - 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.552450
M3 - Research Article
C2 - 33173507
AN - SCOPUS:85092202325
SN - 1664-0640
VL - 11
JO - Frontiers in Psychiatry
JF - Frontiers in Psychiatry
M1 - 552450
ER -
