Telemedicina e suas implicações para a psiquiatria

Telemedicine and its implications for Psychiatry

Abstract

Mental disorders, especially depression and anxiety, are a growing public health concern. Despite barriers to accessing psychiatric services, technological innovations, such as telemedicine, are promising solutions to mitigate the mental health crisis, especially in the post- COVID 19 pandemic context, which has accelerated the adoption of telemedicine, changing the way patients’ services are offered. Therefore, this article is an integrative literature review and its objective is to establish whether there is a consensus in the literature on the effectiveness of telemedicine in psychiatry. To this end, the PubMed and SciELO databases were used, considering articles published in the last 10 years. The descriptors were “telemedicine”, “health impact assessment”, “Physicians’ Offices”, “Psychiatry”, combined by the Boolean operator “AND”. 103 articles were selected and after applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 22 articles were selected. Based on the literature used, it appears that telepsychiatry presents an effective approach, offering advantages such as accessibility, cost reduction and flexibility, especially in the treatment of disorders such as depression and anxiety. However, its effectiveness may be limited in cases of eating disorders, presenting contradictory results in relation to substance abuse. Patient satisfaction is generally high, it can also facilitate early interventions and care coordination. However, challenges such as privacy, the need for technological training and internet access need to be addressed, so more research is needed to assess its impact on patients. Integrating telepsychiatry with in-person care through hybrid models can provide more comprehensive and personalized care.