Background
The COVID-19 pandemic and its associated movement restrictions forced a rapid and massive transition to telepsychiatry to successfully maintain care continuity.
Objective
The aim of this study is to examine a large number of patients’ experiences of, use of, and attitudes toward telepsychiatry.
Methods
An anonymous 11-question survey was delivered electronically to 14,000 patients receiving telepsychiatry care at 18 participating centers across 11 US states between the months of April and June 2020, including questions about their age and length of service use, as well as experience and satisfaction with telepsychiatry on a 5-point Likert scale. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze and report data.
Results
In total, 3070 patients with different age ranges participated. The overall experience using telepsychiatry was either excellent or good for 1189 (82.2%) participants using video and 2312 (81.5%) using telephone. In addition, 1922 (63.6%) patients either agreed or strongly agreed that remote treatment sessions (telephone or video) have been just as helpful as in-person treatment. Lack of commute (n=1406, 46.1%) and flexible scheduling/rescheduling (n=1389, 45.5%) were frequently reported advantages of telepsychiatry, whereas missing the clinic/hospital (n=936, 30.7%) and not feeling as connected to their doctor/nurse/therapist (n=752, 24.6%) were the most frequently reported challenges. After the current pandemic resolves, 1937 (64.2%) respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that they would consider using remote treatment sessions in the future.
Conclusions
Telepsychiatry is very well perceived among a large sample of patients. After the current pandemic resolves, some patients may benefit from continued telepsychiatry, but longitudinal studies are needed to assess impact on clinical outcomes and determine whether patients’ perceptions change over time.
in 4 regions, and consequently, in 15 regions telepsychiatry services were reimbursed at the same rate (or higher) than in-person consultations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusions Our results confirm that, due to COVID-19, the majority of countries surveyed are altering telemedicine regulations that had previously restricted the spread of telemedicine. These findings provide information that could guide future policy and regulatory decisions, that facilitate greater scale and spread of telepsychiatry globally.
Cannabinoid CB1 receptors (CBR) and serotonergic 2A receptors (5HTR) form heteromers in the brain of mice where they mediate the cognitive deficits produced by delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol. However, it is still unknown whether the expression of this heterodimer is modulated by chronic cannabis use in humans. In this study, we investigated the expression levels and functionality of CBR-5HTR heteromers in human olfactory neuroepithelium (ON) cells of cannabis users and control subjects, and determined their molecular characteristics through adenylate cyclase and the ERK 1/2 pathway signaling studies. We also assessed whether heteromer expression levels correlated with cannabis consumption and cognitive performance in neuropsychological tests. ON cells from controls and cannabis users expressed neuronal markers such as βIII-tubulin and nestin, displayed similar expression levels of genes related to cellular self-renewal, stem cell differentiation, and generation of neural crest cells, and showed comparable Na currents in patch clamp recordings. Interestingly, CBR-5HTR heteromer expression was significantly increased in cannabis users and positively correlated with the amount of cannabis consumed, and negatively with age of onset of cannabis use. In addition, a negative correlation was found between heteromer expression levels and attention and working memory performance in cannabis users and control subjects. Our findings suggest that cannabis consumption regulates the formation of CBR-5HTR heteromers, and may have a key role in cognitive processing. These heterodimers could be potential new targets to develop treatment alternatives for cognitive impairments.
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