Doha, Qatar: A recent study has revealed a significant reduction in no-show rates for mental health services following the introduction of telehealth, marking a notable improvement over prior in-person appointment attendance.
The data, which includes both new and follow-up cases, highlights a marked shift in patient engagement, with telehealth proving especially effective in reducing missed appointments.
However, certain exceptions were observed, notably in child and adolescent mental health service psychology and forensic psychiatric services, where no-show rates remained largely unaffected by the shift to virtual care.
The study ‘Telepsychiatry implementation in Qatar: A three-year analysis of no-show rates and its impact on mental health service delivery’ is published in the latest edition of the Qatar Medical Journal.
“Telehealth has proven instrumental in improving access to mental health services in Qatar post-pandemic. Its integration shows the potential for reducing no-show rates and enhancing continuity of care. These findings are important for healthcare policy-making and practice in Qatar and provide valuable insights into the global discourse on the evolving role of Telehealth,” the study suggested.
Qatar rapidly adopted telehealth services in March 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, with Hamad Medical Corporation leading the integration across community and outpatient services, including mental health services. This shift facilitated the growth of telepsychiatry, easing the transition from in-person to virtual consultations. Despite advancements in healthcare infrastructure, Qatar faces challenges, including a shortage of mental health professionals and gaps in public awareness. This study aims to assess the long-term efficacy of telehealth on mental health services over the past three years, providing insights for healthcare policy and improvement.
The study includes a comparative analysis of no-show rates over four months before the initiation of telepsychiatry and telepsychology (March to June 2019) and corresponding periods in 2020, 2021, and 2022. The analysis considered visit types (new visit and follow-up visit) in various psychiatric (child and adolescent, adult, geriatric, forensic, and intellectual disability) and psychological outpatient clinics before and after the implementation of telehealth services.
The study observed a significant reduction in no-show rates among new cases after the implementation of telehealth programme, dropping from 35.2% in 2019 to 17.42% in 2020, and further down to 12.11% by 2021.
This trend was seen across most subspecialties, except for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) psychology, where the difference in no-show rates was not statistically significant.
A notable decrease was observed in child and adolescent psychiatry but not in CAMHS psychology, suggesting a preference for psychiatric appointments.
Factors like the frequency of psychology sessions and the perceived importance of psychiatric services likely contributed to this discrepancy.
The study emphasises that successful telehealth integration relies on patient-provider education, robust support systems, and policies to ensure seamless access.
Telepsychiatry’s convenience and reduced logistical barriers can improve engagement, though challenges like digital literacy and the digital divide remain critical to address.
