Wright J, Dewan S, Hilty D, Dewan N. (2020). Health care providers’ perceptions of quality, acceptance, and satisfaction with telebehavioral health services during the COVID-19 pandemic: Survey-based study. JMIR Mental Health. 7(12): e23245. doi: 10.2196/23245
Researchers recruited health care providers (n = 170) to participate in a survey-based study to determine initial provider perceptions and experiences from the shift from face-to-face health care to virtual telephone and video care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Surveyed providers included physicians (n = 22), advanced practice registered nurses (APRNS) (n = 9), licensed mental health therapists (n = 54), licensed social workers (n = 22), unlicensed master’s degree holders (n = 31), unlicensed bachelor’s degree holders (n = 27), and psychiatric support staff (n = 5). Most respondents had less than one year of experience using tele-video visits (85%) and telephone care (81%). Providers reported perceptions of televideo and telephone healthcare on a 23-item anonymous survey measured on a 7-point Likert scale: “Not at all” (1) to “Perfect” (7). Providers significantly preferred tele-video visits to telephone care in domains of quality of care and satisfaction with technology. The most significant between-group difference emerged on a measure of how well the delivery mode allowed the provider to develop the patient-clinician alliance (mean score televideo: 4.89 vs. telephone: 3.98). Providers also rated televideo visits as significantly more satisfactory than telephone care on measures of whether the delivery mode allowed for quality of care comparable to a face-to-face visit (mean score televideo: 4.48 vs. telephone: 3.92), how well the delivery mode enabled the provider to meet patient needs (televideo: 5.12 vs. telephone: 4.65), and provider satisfaction with the delivery experience (televideo: 4.86 vs. telephone: 4.35). Findings suggest a significant provider preference for televideo health visits over telephone care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Future research could evaluate patient acceptance and satisfaction with telehealth care, provider concerns, long-term quality of care, and ramifications for the therapeutic alliance.