@Article{info:doi/10.2196/33697,
author="Yue, Han
and Mail, Victoria
and DiSalvo, Maura
and Borba, Christina
and Piechniczek-Buczek, Joanna
and Yule, Amy M",
title="Patient Preferences for Patient Portal--Based Telepsychiatry in a Safety Net Hospital Setting During COVID-19: Cross-sectional Study",
journal="JMIR Form Res",
year="2022",
month="Jan",
day="26",
volume="6",
number="1",
pages="e33697",
keywords="patient portal; telemedicine; telepsychiatry; COVID-19; portal; mental health; psychiatry; engagement; behavior; video; hospital; urban; outreach",
abstract="Background: Patient portals are a safe and secure way for patients to connect with providers for video-based telepsychiatry and help to overcome the financial and logistical barriers associated with face-to-face mental health care. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, telepsychiatry has become increasingly important to obtaining mental health care. However, financial and technological barriers, termed the ``digital divide,'' prevent some patients from accessing the technology needed to use telepsychiatry services. Objective: As an extension to a clinic's outreach project during COVID-19 to improve patient engagement with video-based visits through the hospital's patient portal among adult behavioral health patients at an urban safety net hospital, we aim to assess patient preference for patient portal--based video visits or telephone-only visits and to identify the demographic variables associated with their preference. Methods: Patients in an outpatient psychiatry clinic were contacted by phone, and preference for telepsychiatry by phone or video through a patient portal, as well as device preference for video-based visits, were documented. Patient demographic characteristics were collected from the electronic medical record. Results: A total of 128 patients were reached by phone. A total of 79 (61.7{\%}) patients chose video-based visits, and 69.6{\%} (n=55) of these patients preferred to access the patient portal through a smartphone. Older patients were significantly less likely to agree to video-based visits. Conclusions: Among behavioral health patients at a safety net hospital, there was relatively low engagement with video-based visits through the hospital's patient portal, particularly among older adults. ",
issn="2561-326X",
doi="10.2196/33697",
url="https://formative.jmir.org/2022/1/e33697",
url="https://doi.org/10.2196/33697",
url="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34932497"
}