• Lynsey Avalone, Charles Barron, Carla King, Rebecca Linn-Walton, Jen Lau, Hunter L McQuistion, Maryann Popiel, Meera Balasubramaniam, Richard Freeman, and Omar Fattal.
• Office of Behavioral Health (Avalone, Barron, King, Linn-Walton, Freeman, Fattal), Office of Population Health (Lau), Gotham Health, Gouverneur (McQuistion), Jacobi Hospital (Popiel), North Central Bronx H... more ospital (Popiel), and Bellevue Hospital (Balasubramaniam), NYC Health + Hospitals, New York City; Grossman School of Medicine, New York University, New York City (McQuistion, Balasubramaniam, Fattal). less
• Psychiatr Serv. 2021 Jun 1; 72 (6): 708-711.

ObjectiveThis study aimed to examine differences in completion rates between telepsychiatry and in-person visits during the COVID-19 pandemic and a prior reference period.MethodsThe authors used electronic medical record data along with chi-squared or t tests to compare patients' demographic characteristics. Generalized estimating equations for estimating the odds of primary and secondary outcomes were used, controlling for demographic characteristics.ResultsDuring COVID-19, the odds of completing a telepsychiatry visit (N=26,715) were 6.68 times the odds of completing an in-person visit (N=11,094). The odds of completing a telepsychiatry visit during COVID-19 were 3.00 times the odds of completing an in-person visit during the pre-COVID-19 reference period (N=40,318).ConclusionsIn this cross-sectional study, outpatient adult mental health clinic telepsychiatry appointments, largely by telephone, were strongly associated with a higher rate of visit completion compared with in-person visits during and prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Regulators should consider permanently enabling reimbursement for telephone-only telepsychiatry visits.

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