Changes in Telepsychiatry Regulations during the COVID-19 Pandemic: 17 Countries and Regions' Approaches to an Evolving Healthcare Landscape

Shotaro Kinoshita; Kelley Cortright; Allison Crawford; Yuya Mizuno; Kazunari Yoshida; Donald Hilty; Daniel Guinart; John Torous; Christoph U. Correll; David J. Castle; Deyvis Rocha; Yuan Yang; Yu Tao Xiang; Pernille Kølbæk; David Dines; Mohammad Elshami; Prakhar Jain; Roy Kallivayalil; Marco Solmi; Angela Favaro; Nicola Veronese; Soraya Seedat; Sangho Shin; Gonzalo Salazar De Pablo; Chun Hung Chang; Kuan Pin Su; Hakan Karas; John M. Kane; Peter Yellowlees; Taishiro Kishimoto

doi:10.1017/S0033291720004584

Changes in Telepsychiatry Regulations during the COVID-19 Pandemic: 17 Countries and Regions' Approaches to an Evolving Healthcare Landscape

Shotaro Kinoshita, Kelley Cortright, Allison Crawford, Yuya Mizuno, Kazunari Yoshida, Donald Hilty, Daniel Guinart, John Torous, Christoph U. Correll, David J. Castle, Deyvis Rocha, Yuan Yang, Yu Tao Xiang, Pernille Kølbæk, David Dines, Mohammad Elshami, Prakhar Jain, Roy Kallivayalil, Marco Solmi, Angela FavaroNicola Veronese, Soraya Seedat, Sangho Shin, Gonzalo Salazar De Pablo, Chun Hung Chang, Kuan Pin Su, Hakan Karas, John M. Kane, Peter Yellowlees, Taishiro Kishimoto^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

53 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of telemedicine as a way to reduce COVID-19 infections was noted and consequently deregulated. However, the degree of telemedicine regulation varies from country to country, which may alter the widespread use of telemediine. This study aimed to clarify the telepsychiatry regulations for each collaborating country/region before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We used snowball sampling within a global network of international telepsychiatry experts. Thirty collaborators from 17 different countries/regions responded to a questionnaire on barriers to the use and implementation of telepsychiatric care, including policy factors such as regulations and reimbursement at the end of 2019 and as of May 2020. Results: Thirteen of 17 regions reported a relaxation of regulations due to the pandemic; consequently, all regions surveyed stated that telepsychiatry was now possible within their public healthcare systems. In some regions, restrictions on prescription medications allowed via telepsychiatry were eased, but in 11 of the 17 regions, there were still restrictions on prescribing medications via telepsychiatry. Lower insurance reimbursement amounts for telepsychiatry consultations versus in-person consultations were reevaluated 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.

Original language	English
Journal	Psychological Medicine
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291720004584
Publication status	Accepted/In press - 2020

Keywords

COVID-19
government regulation
health insurance reimbursement
telemedicine
telepsychiatry

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1017/S0033291720004584

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Kinoshita, S., Cortright, K., Crawford, A., Mizuno, Y., Yoshida, K., Hilty, D., Guinart, D., Torous, J., Correll, C. U., Castle, D. J., Rocha, D., Yang, Y., Xiang, Y. T., Kølbæk, P., Dines, D., Elshami, M., Jain, P., Kallivayalil, R., Solmi, M., ... Kishimoto, T. (Accepted/In press). Changes in Telepsychiatry Regulations during the COVID-19 Pandemic: 17 Countries and Regions' Approaches to an Evolving Healthcare Landscape. Psychological Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291720004584

@article{d424b6cd50a64d3c89e43b80a19c1473,

title = "Changes in Telepsychiatry Regulations during the COVID-19 Pandemic: 17 Countries and Regions' Approaches to an Evolving Healthcare Landscape",

abstract = "Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of telemedicine as a way to reduce COVID-19 infections was noted and consequently deregulated. However, the degree of telemedicine regulation varies from country to country, which may alter the widespread use of telemediine. This study aimed to clarify the telepsychiatry regulations for each collaborating country/region before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We used snowball sampling within a global network of international telepsychiatry experts. Thirty collaborators from 17 different countries/regions responded to a questionnaire on barriers to the use and implementation of telepsychiatric care, including policy factors such as regulations and reimbursement at the end of 2019 and as of May 2020. Results: Thirteen of 17 regions reported a relaxation of regulations due to the pandemic; consequently, all regions surveyed stated that telepsychiatry was now possible within their public healthcare systems. In some regions, restrictions on prescription medications allowed via telepsychiatry were eased, but in 11 of the 17 regions, there were still restrictions on prescribing medications via telepsychiatry. Lower insurance reimbursement amounts for telepsychiatry consultations versus in-person consultations were reevaluated 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.",

keywords = "COVID-19, government regulation, health insurance reimbursement, telemedicine, telepsychiatry",

author = "Shotaro Kinoshita and Kelley Cortright and Allison Crawford and Yuya Mizuno and Kazunari Yoshida and Donald Hilty and Daniel Guinart and John Torous and Correll, {Christoph U.} and Castle, {David J.} and Deyvis Rocha and Yuan Yang and Xiang, {Yu Tao} and Pernille K{\o}lb{\ae}k and David Dines and Mohammad Elshami and Prakhar Jain and Roy Kallivayalil and Marco Solmi and Angela Favaro and Nicola Veronese and Soraya Seedat and Sangho Shin and {De Pablo}, {Gonzalo Salazar} and Chang, {Chun Hung} and Su, {Kuan Pin} and Hakan Karas and Kane, {John M.} and Peter Yellowlees and Taishiro Kishimoto",

year = "2020",

doi = "10.1017/S0033291720004584",

language = "English",

journal = "Psychological Medicine",

issn = "0033-2917",

publisher = "Cambridge University Press",

}

Kinoshita, S, Cortright, K, Crawford, A, Mizuno, Y, Yoshida, K, Hilty, D, Guinart, D, Torous, J, Correll, CU, Castle, DJ, Rocha, D, Yang, Y, Xiang, YT, Kølbæk, P, Dines, D, Elshami, M, Jain, P, Kallivayalil, R, Solmi, M, Favaro, A, Veronese, N, Seedat, S, Shin, S, De Pablo, GS, Chang, CH, Su, KP, Karas, H, Kane, JM, Yellowlees, P & Kishimoto, T 2020, 'Changes in Telepsychiatry Regulations during the COVID-19 Pandemic: 17 Countries and Regions' Approaches to an Evolving Healthcare Landscape', Psychological Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291720004584

TY - JOUR

T1 - Changes in Telepsychiatry Regulations during the COVID-19 Pandemic

T2 - 17 Countries and Regions' Approaches to an Evolving Healthcare Landscape

AU - Kinoshita, Shotaro

AU - Cortright, Kelley

AU - Crawford, Allison

AU - Mizuno, Yuya

AU - Yoshida, Kazunari

AU - Hilty, Donald

AU - Guinart, Daniel

AU - Torous, John

AU - Correll, Christoph U.

AU - Castle, David J.

AU - Rocha, Deyvis

AU - Yang, Yuan

AU - Xiang, Yu Tao

AU - Kølbæk, Pernille

AU - Dines, David

AU - Elshami, Mohammad

AU - Jain, Prakhar

AU - Kallivayalil, Roy

AU - Solmi, Marco

AU - Favaro, Angela

AU - Veronese, Nicola

AU - Seedat, Soraya

AU - Shin, Sangho

AU - De Pablo, Gonzalo Salazar

AU - Chang, Chun Hung

AU - Su, Kuan Pin

AU - Karas, Hakan

AU - Kane, John M.

AU - Yellowlees, Peter

AU - Kishimoto, Taishiro

PY - 2020

Y1 - 2020

N2 - Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of telemedicine as a way to reduce COVID-19 infections was noted and consequently deregulated. However, the degree of telemedicine regulation varies from country to country, which may alter the widespread use of telemediine. This study aimed to clarify the telepsychiatry regulations for each collaborating country/region before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We used snowball sampling within a global network of international telepsychiatry experts. Thirty collaborators from 17 different countries/regions responded to a questionnaire on barriers to the use and implementation of telepsychiatric care, including policy factors such as regulations and reimbursement at the end of 2019 and as of May 2020. Results: Thirteen of 17 regions reported a relaxation of regulations due to the pandemic; consequently, all regions surveyed stated that telepsychiatry was now possible within their public healthcare systems. In some regions, restrictions on prescription medications allowed via telepsychiatry were eased, but in 11 of the 17 regions, there were still restrictions on prescribing medications via telepsychiatry. Lower insurance reimbursement amounts for telepsychiatry consultations versus in-person consultations were reevaluated 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.

AB - Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of telemedicine as a way to reduce COVID-19 infections was noted and consequently deregulated. However, the degree of telemedicine regulation varies from country to country, which may alter the widespread use of telemediine. This study aimed to clarify the telepsychiatry regulations for each collaborating country/region before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We used snowball sampling within a global network of international telepsychiatry experts. Thirty collaborators from 17 different countries/regions responded to a questionnaire on barriers to the use and implementation of telepsychiatric care, including policy factors such as regulations and reimbursement at the end of 2019 and as of May 2020. Results: Thirteen of 17 regions reported a relaxation of regulations due to the pandemic; consequently, all regions surveyed stated that telepsychiatry was now possible within their public healthcare systems. In some regions, restrictions on prescription medications allowed via telepsychiatry were eased, but in 11 of the 17 regions, there were still restrictions on prescribing medications via telepsychiatry. Lower insurance reimbursement amounts for telepsychiatry consultations versus in-person consultations were reevaluated 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.

KW - COVID-19

KW - government regulation

KW - health insurance reimbursement

KW - telemedicine

KW - telepsychiatry

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U2 - 10.1017/S0033291720004584

DO - 10.1017/S0033291720004584

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85097213153

SN - 0033-2917

JO - Psychological Medicine

JF - Psychological Medicine

ER -

Changes in Telepsychiatry Regulations during the COVID-19 Pandemic: 17 Countries and Regions' Approaches to an Evolving Healthcare Landscape

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

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