Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33785494›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2021

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on remote mental healthcare and prescribing in psychiatry: an electronic health record study.

Rashmi Patel, Jessica Irving, Aimee Brinn, Matthew Broadbent, Hitesh Shetty, Megan Pritchard, Johnny Downs, Robert Stewart, Robert Harland, Philip McGuire

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 35 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
35citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
6.1field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

35 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 53 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Utilization of mental health services during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic - a systematic review and meta-analysis.European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists · 2026
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  18. The effects of COVID-19 on European healthcare provision for working-age adults with major depressive disorder.European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists · 2023
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Rashmi Patel *Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK rashmi.patel@kcl.ac.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9259-8788
Jessica Irving *Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2847-6508
Aimee BrinnDepartment of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
Matthew BroadbentBiomedical Research Centre Nucleus, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
Hitesh ShettyBiomedical Research Centre Nucleus, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
Megan PritchardDepartment of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
Johnny DownsDepartment of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8061-295X
Robert StewartDepartment of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
Robert HarlandPsychosis Clinical Academic Group, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
Philip McGuireDepartment of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
King's College London · GBSouth London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust · GB

Funding

Medical Research Council MR/S003118/1Medical Research Council MR/T045302/1Wellcome Trust
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesThe recent COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted mental healthcare delivery, with many services shifting from in-person to remote patient contact. We investigated the impact of the pandemic on the use of remote consultation and on the prescribing of psychiatric medications. DESIGN AND

settingThe Clinical Record Interactive Search tool was used to examine deidentified electronic health records of people receiving mental healthcare from the South London and Maudsley (SLaM) NHS Foundation Trust. Data from the period before and after the onset of the pandemic were analysed using linear regression, and visualised using locally estimated scatterplot smoothing.

participantsAll patients receiving care from SLaM between 7 January 2019 and 20 September 2020 (around 37 500 patients per week). OUTCOME MEASURES: (i) The number of clinical contacts (in-person, remote or non-attended) with mental healthcare professionals per week.(ii) Prescribing of antipsychotic and mood stabiliser medications per week.

resultsFollowing the onset of the pandemic, the frequency of in-person contacts was significantly reduced compared with that in the previous year (β coefficient: -5829.6 contacts, 95% CI -6919.5 to -4739.6, p<0.001), while the frequency of remote contacts significantly increased (β coefficient: 3338.5 contacts, 95% CI 3074.4 to 3602.7, p<0.001). Rates of remote consultation were lower in older adults than in working age adults, children and adolescents. Despite this change in the type of patient contact, antipsychotic and mood stabiliser prescribing remained at similar levels.

conclusionsThe COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with a marked increase in remote consultation, particularly among younger patients. However, there was no evidence that this has led to changes in psychiatric prescribing. Nevertheless, further work is needed to ensure that older patients are able to access mental healthcare remotely.

Indexed as

Drug PrescriptionsPractice Patterns, Physicians'TelemedicineAdolescentAgedChildCOVID-19Delivery of Health CareElectronic Health RecordsHumansLondonMental Health ServicesPandemicsPsychiatrySARS-CoV-2epidemiologyhealth informaticsmental healthpsychiatrytelemedicine

Identifiers

PMID33785494
PMCPMC8728386
OpenAlexW3152462063

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.