gms | German Medical Science

20. Deutscher Kongress für Versorgungsforschung

Deutsches Netzwerk Versorgungsforschung e. V.

06. - 08.10.2021, digital

The NUM egePan COVID-ψ-studies: offer and utilization, challenges and good-practice-solutions in the German mental health care system during the COVID-19-pandemic

Meeting Abstract

  • Hauke Felix Wiegand - Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medicine Mainz, Mainz, Germany
  • Nikolaus Röthke - Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medicine Mainz, Mainz, Germany
  • Gabriel Gerlinger - DGPPN, Wissenschaftlicher Dienst, Berlin, Deutschland
  • Oliver Tüscher - Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medicine Mainz, Mainz, Germany
  • Klaus Lieb - Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medicine Mainz, Mainz, Germany
  • Andreas Heinz - Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany
  • Peter Falkai - Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, Munich, Germany
  • Kristina Adorjan - Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, Munich, Germany

20. Deutscher Kongress für Versorgungsforschung (DKVF). sine loco [digital], 06.-08.10.2021. Düsseldorf: German Medical Science GMS Publishing House; 2021. Doc21dkvf357

doi: 10.3205/21dkvf357, urn:nbn:de:0183-21dkvf3574

Published: September 27, 2021

© 2021 Wiegand et al.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. See license information at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.


Outline

Text

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic poses a challenge for mental health care systems. Infections among patients and healthcare professionals pose a challenge to routine practices, elaborate protective and testing measures have to be put into place and the system has to cope with staffing shortages due to infections and staff deployed for duty on COVID-19 wards. At the same time, large changes in offer and utilization can be observed and the pandemic has fostered the widespread use of new treatment formats like video or teletherapy. So far, not much is known about the situation in the German mental health care system over the course of the pandemic.

Research question and aims: In the egePan project of the German Network of University Medicine (NUM) the COVID-19-studies are conducted to gain evidence about changes in offer and utilization in both the outpatient and inpatient mental health care system during the course of the pandemic, as well as challenges, problems and good-practice solutions related to specific patient groups and their treatment sequences, hygiene and testing measures, mental health professionals, and new treatment formats like video therapy.

Method: The „COVID-19-Psychiatrie-Institutsbefragung” is a survey study that uses video or phone interviews as well as an online-survey to query directors and senior physicians of psychiatric hospitals and departments in Germany. A first survey was conducted in March 2020, a second survey in March and April 2021. The „COVID-19-ambulant” online survey of outpatient mental health specialists is planned to start in May 2021. The „COVID-19-Data” study in health insurance funds routine data examines changes in utilization in the German outpatient and inpatient statutory health insurance system. Case numbers, hospital length of stays stratified by diagnostic groups, contacts with psychotherapists and medical specialists (operationalized via OPS codes) as well as prescriptions of antidepressants, antipsychotics and tranquilizers (operationalized via ATC codes and defined daily doses) are quantified.

Results: First results of the survey of 38 psychiatric hospitals and departments conducted in March 2020 showed that treatment capacity decreased by approximately 40%. Day-clinical services were also largely reduced or even discontinued completely. Wards for COVID-19 infected patients with a leading psychiatric disorder were available in 84% of the surveyed clinics. First results of the 2021 surveys and COVID-19-Data-studies will be presented at the conference.

Discussion: First survey results show largely reduced offerings. Consequences for the affected patient populations and their treatment sequences remain unclear.

Practical implications: More data on pandemic-related changes in the German mental health care system and their consequences are urgently needed.

Appeal for practice: To manage challenges like the current COVID-19 pandemic and to better coordinate sequences of care in post-pandemic times a more data-driven and standardized monitoring of routine care is pivotal.