TELEPSYCHIATRY VS IN-PERSON CONSULTATION DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC: A COMPARISON ACROSS DIAGNOSIS.

Abstract

Since the onset of COVID-19 pandemic, telepsychiatry is being used at a massive scale, but without assessing its edge over traditional in-person consultation. The aim of this study was to compare the sociodemographic and clinical profile of cases seeking online consultations with those seeking in-person consultations when the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic hit India. In this record based cross-sectional study, we compared age, gender and clinical profile 6048 patients seeking in-person consultation with 2446 patients seeking teleconsultation. Patients with severe mental disorders and substance use disorders were more in the in- person group while those with common mental disorders (Depression, anxiety, and sexual disorders) were more in the telepsychiatry group. However, these differences were statistically non-significant. A non-significant but slightly lesser average age was noted in the telepsychiatry group across both male (p=0.44) and female gender (p=0.32). No significant difference was noted across both genders between both groups. This suggests that teleservices could serve as an alternative and innovative approach to bridge the treatment gap in psychiatry. This study draws attention to the need of expanding and strengthening telepsychiatry further, even after the pandemic that can impart convenient, affordable, and accessible mental health services.