Virtual Psychiatry is Here to Stay

COMMENTARY

Outpatient psychiatry went online in early 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the next 2 years, there were robust discussions about whether virtual psychiatric treatment was effective, whether it was as effective as in-person treatment, whether it was more effective for some patients than for others, and finally, whether psychiatrists and their patients would be returning to the office when the pandemic was over. My comments about each of these considerations will be based on my own experiences as an outpatient psychiatrist and having followed and participated in online discussions about this topic. I will end with a couple of predictions.

The Effectiveness of Virtual Psychiatry

Virtual psychiatric treatment was accepted as valid and effective soon after the invention of the telephone (patented in 1876 by Alexander Graham Bell¹) at the beginning of the 20th century. Psychotherapy was conducted by phone when face-to-face treatment was not possible. Even before COVID-19, psychiatrists were treating patients by phone and on audio-visual platforms as a routine part of their outpatient practice. This most often occurred with patients who were too physically ill to come to the office (although home visits took place as well), when patients were out of town on work travel or on vacation, and when patients had relocated out of state but wanted to maintain their therapeutic relationship with their psychiatrist.