A Survey Comparing Adult and Child Psychiatry Trainees, Faculty, and Program Directors’ Perspectives About Telepsychiatry: Implications for Clinical Care and Training

Abstract

Telepsychiatry’s effectiveness is well established, and interest in it is growing, despite few residency/fellowship core curricula and rotations. A link to a cross-sectional survey was sent via national organization listservs for psychiatry residents, fellows, faculty, and program directors to complete. The survey queried demographics, clinical experience, and views/concerns about telepsychiatry. Descriptive statistics and other analyses compared groups to assess the impact of amount clinical experience and psychiatric specialty (general vs. child and adolescent psychiatry), on interest, and views/concerns about the practice of telepsychiatry. All respondents (N = 270; child psychiatry N = 89) have limited clinical experience with telepsychiatry (46% overall; 49% of non-child had none versus 40% child). Trainees (N = 123; child N = 43) expressed less interest than others. All respondents expressed worry about ability to do a physical exam, connectivity, medico-legal issues, and fit for diverse populations. Child respondents expressed less concern than others, but they reported more worry about loss of nonverbal cues. Clinical experience with telepsychiatry in the range of 6–20 h appears to build interest and allay concerns, though 1–5 h also may have a positive impact. More research is needed to assess clinical experience, interest, and concerns for adult and child psychiatry trainees and clinicians. Replicable, curricular interventions appear to be indicated.