Before I start posting more details about the various models for psychiatric clinics, I think it's important to remember that, like everything else, COVID has affected how psychiatric clinics are being run.
Clinics are trying to figure out how to balance what needs to be done with new regulations that just weren't regular requirements in the past.
So as we walk through the various models of care, please remember that there have been adjustments made to every clinic model over the last two years, as safety protocols continue to change.
The single most consistent change I've seen is shifting appointments towards telepsychiatry versus in-person. However, as safety protocols are extended far past what many of us envisioned, the logistics of seeing patients in-person are being worked through. At the end of the day, psychiatrists are physicians and there are exam components that are just more difficult to accurately gauge remotely.
Many clinics now allow fewer people in the building at a time. Many are scheduling their patients further apart, to prevent the need for patients to wait in a lobby until their appointment time. As 2021 comes to an end, many are adopting a hybrid model where patients are alternating remote and in-person visits, to help decrease the number of people in clinic at a time while also making sure that necessary in-person care can happen.
I'll be sure to cover telepsychiatry clinics in their own post, as most are learning that it's a unique type of care experience.
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