Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the traditional practice of psychiatric assessment and treatment via face-to-face interaction. Telepsychiatry, the delivery of psychiatric care remotely through telecommunications technology, is an existing and under-utilised tool that may help to minimise disruption to patient care. Technological advancement is at a stage where it can facilitate widespread use of this practice; however, concerns that limited its expansion previously were not unfounded. This article discusses the use of telepsychiatry in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Highlights
The COVID-19 pandemic has presented the medical community with a sweeping collection of challenges
Given the nature and scale of the problem and the speed of its spread across the globe, no healthcare system has the necessary infrastructural resources to adequately cope with the evolving impact of this novel coronavirus
The effects of this pandemic will likely be present for some considerable time and management initiatives that seek to overcome barriers to medical care caused by physical distancing measures must be sustainable over a protracted period
Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the traditional practice of psychiatric assessment and treatment via face-to-face interaction. Telepsychiatry, the delivery of psychiatric care remotely through telecommunications technology, is an existing and under-utilised tool that may help to minimise disruption to patient care. Technological advancement is at a stage where it can facilitate widespread use of this practice; concerns that limited its expansion previously were not unfounded. This article discusses the use of telepsychiatry in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Received 19 April 2020; Revised 12 May 2020; Accepted 16 May 2020; First published online 21 May 2020
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