A large proportion of treated patients in the mental health system in the Utrecht region appear to have positive experiences with digital care, such as with image calling. Of these people, more than half want to continue to receive digital care (also) after the corona pandemic. This is evident from research among more than 4,200 patients of Altrecht, GGz Centraal and UMC Utrecht. The researchers advocate that healthcare professionals continue to discuss the option of digital care with the patient, even if the situation returns to normal after corona.
Three-quarters of the patients reported that their treatment had been converted to a remote form, such as via phone or video calling. Of them, more than half want to continue treatment (partly) remotely, even if a physical appointment at the facility is possible again after corona pandemic. Floortje Scheepers, psychiatrist at UMC Utrecht: “The picture is more positive than we expected. For example, one parent told us that their child experienced much less stress for the digital consultation than for a physical visit to the psychologist with the accompanying trip.” The remote contacts themselves were also appreciated by patients; two out of three patients found them pleasant, and more than half of the patients found the contact as good as a physical contact. Between groups of patients, the differences were slight.
“We actually saw in every target group of patients a share of enthusiasts of digital care, a share of moderately positive and a share of patients with mostly criticism,” said Barbara Montagne, clinical psychologist GGZ Centraal. These results show that the positive and less positive experiences cannot be attributed to a specific group within the mental health system. This argues for nuance, but above all for providing customization by discussing digital treatment options with the patient. ‘However, we see around us that we are already largely reverting back to our old habits of physical consultations. That is allowed, but preferably not out of habit, but only after you have discussed the options with the patient and made a choice in this together.’
The corona pandemic turned the whole world upside down, including the mental health sector. Care had to continue, but, especially in the beginning, could only be organized remotely in most cases. This meant quite a turnaround for many mental health organizations. It led to much stress and a high workload among care staff, but also to results: three-quarters of ongoing treatments were continued remotely. Care at a distance has always been possible, but until now its application has always been limited. Suzy Matthijssen, clinical psychologist at Altrecht: “It was unthinkable that we would be able to properly design intensive trauma treatment for complex PTSD online. But the crisis forced us to, and we prepared everything as well as possible with videos, specific image programs and links to modules and questionnaires. The first patient recovered fantastically. Now, so many groups later, we can also say that the first patient was not a fluke. For us, there now remains a fixed proportion of patients doing the intensive treatment online.” It was a switch not only for professionals but certainly for patients as well. About 9 out of 10 patients had the necessary facilities to call or image call. The results from this study are an incentive for institutions to work with client councils to give digital care a place within overall care delivery.
The joint research by Altrecht, GGz Centraal and UMC Utrecht is part of a broader partnership: ADACT (applied data science and computer technology). Together we stimulate the application of digital care, and seek to learn and improve through joint data analysis. Increasing digital skills and knowledge about the digital possibilities, is an important goal and in our view necessary to be able to offer better and more personalized care to our patients, now and in the future.
