Pharmacists' role and experiences with delivering mental health care within team-based primary care settings during the COVID-19 pandemic

OBJECTIVES

Pharmacists have been increasingly integrated into primary care teams, leading to improved health outcomes for patients. The two objectives of this study were (i) to describe how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted pharmacists' role in mental health care within Canadian primary care teams and (ii) to describe Canadian pharmacists' experiences collaborating with other healthcare providers in the delivery of mental health services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS

Cross-sectional observational study utilizing an online survey consisting of closed-ended and open-ended questions. Primary care pharmacists in Ontario were eligible to participate. Descriptive statistics were collated, and qualitative data underwent thematic analysis. A total of 51 pharmacists participated in the study.

KEY FINDINGS

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the expanding role of pharmacists in attending to the mental health care of patients. Working within a collaborative, interprofessional healthcare environment, pharmacists support patients' mental health in a variety of ways, including medication education and management, non-pharmacologic approaches and supportive conversations, and identification of resources, including referrals, wellness checks, and consulting with physicians. Increasing demand for mental health services has led to higher referrals to pharmacists, which will likely persist and require further education of pharmacists in mental health along with better access to deliver virtual care.

CONCLUSION

In response to the increasing mental health care needs of patients since the COVID-19 pandemic, primary care pharmacists reported increased attention spent on mental health care. Building capacity and ensuring support for pharmacists to continue to address the increasing mental health care demands is essential.

Meaningful engagement through critical reflexivity: Engaging people with lived experience in continuing mental health professional development

Engaging people with lived experience of mental health system encounters in the design and actualization of continuing professional development initiatives for mental health professionals can have transformative systemic impacts. Yet, despite evidence that involving people with lived experience benefits mental health professional education, far less focus has been placed on how to engage people with lived experience in continuing professional development initiatives. Tensions persist regarding the role of lived experience perspectives in continuing professional development, as well as how to establish people with lived experience as partners, educators and leaders in a thoughtful way. We propose that meaningful and equitable partnerships with people with lived experience can be realized by engaging in critical reflexivity and by systematically challenging assumptions. This paper explores three topics: (1) the current state of engagement with people with lived experience in continuing professional development initiatives; (2) barriers to meaningful engagement and (3) recommendations for using critical reflexivity to support the involvement and leadership of people with lived experience in continuing professional development for mental health professionals. PATIENT OR PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT: This viewpoint manuscript was co-designed and co-written by people with diverse lived and learned experiences. Each author's professional roles involve meaningfully and equitably partnering with and centring the perspectives of those with lived experience of mental health system encounters. In addition, approximately half of the authorship team identifies as having lived experience of accessing the psychiatric system and/or supporting family members who are navigating challenges related to mental health. These lived and learned experiences informed the conception and writing of this article.

The Benefits and Challenges of Precepting Pharmacy Students Virtually in Interprofessional Primary Care Teams

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to identify pharmacists' perspectives on the benefits and challenges of precepting pharmacy students during circumstances that require using virtual care in team-based primary care practices.

METHODS

A cross-sectional online survey was disseminated through Qualtrics software from July 5, 2021, to October 13, 2021. We used a convenience sampling technique to recruit a sample of pharmacists working in primary care teams across Ontario, Canada, who were able to complete a web-based survey in English.

RESULTS

A total of 51 pharmacists participated in the survey and provided complete responses (response rate of 41%). Participants noted benefits at 3 levels of precepting pharmacy students in primary care during the COVID-19 pandemic: (1) benefits to pharmacists, (2) benefits to patients, and (3) benefits to students. Challenges of precepting pharmacy students were: (1) difficulty training students virtually, (2) students not being ideally prepared to begin a practicum training during a pandemic, and (3) reduced availability and new workload demands.

CONCLUSION

Pharmacists in team-based primary care highlighted substantial benefits and challenges for precepting students during a pandemic. Alternative mechanisms of experiential education delivery can provide new opportunities for pharmacy care yet can also restrict immersion into interprofessional team-based primary care and diminish pharmacist capacity. Additional support and resources to facilitate capacity are critical for pharmacy students to succeed in future practice in team-based primary care.

Qualitative examination of collaboration in team-based primary care during the COVID-19 pandemic

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to describe Ontario primary care teams' experiences with collaboration during the COVID-19 pandemic. Descriptive qualitative methods using focus groups conducted virtually for data collection.

SETTING

Primary care teams located in Ontario, Canada.

PARTICIPANTS

Our study conducted 11 focus groups with 10 primary care teams, with a total of 48 participants reflecting a diverse range of interprofessional healthcare providers and administrators working in primary care.

RESULTS

Three themes were identified using thematic analysis: (1) prepandemic team functioning facilitated adaptation, (2) new processes of team interactions and collaboration, and (3) team as a foundation of support.

CONCLUSIONS

Results revealed the importance of collaboration for provider well-being, and the challenges of providing collaborative team-based primary care in the pandemic context. Caution against converting primary care collaboration to predominantly virtual modalities postpandemic is recommended. Further research on team functioning during the COVID-19 pandemic in other healthcare organisations will offer additional insight regarding how primary care teams can work collaboratively in a postpandemic environment.

The quick pivot: Capturing real world modifications for the re-implementation of an early psychosis program transitioning to virtual delivery

Background

Team-based Early Psychosis Intervention (EPI) services is standard of care for youth with psychosis. The COVID-19 pandemic required most EPI services to mount an unplanned, rapid pivot to virtual delivery, with limited guidance on how to deliver virtual clinical services or whether quality of re-implementation and treatment outcomes would be impacted. We used a structured approach to identify essential modifications for the delivery of core components and explored facilitators and barriers for re-implementation and fidelity of a virtually delivered EPI intervention.

Materials and methods

NAVIGATE is a structured approach to team-based EPI. It provides detailed modules to guide delivery of core components including medication management, psychoeducation and psychotherapies, supported employment/education, and family education. Having initially implemented NAVIGATE at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in 2017, the EPI service transitioned to virtual delivery amid the COVID pandemic. Using a practice profile developed to support implementation, we detailed how core components of NAVIGATE were rapidly modified for virtual delivery as reported in structured group meetings with clinicians. The Framework for Reporting Adaptations and Modifications for Evidence-Based Interventions (FRAME) was used to describe modifications. Fidelity to the EPI standards of care was assessed by the First Episode Psychosis Fidelity Scale (FEPS-FS). Re-implementation barriers and facilitators and subsequent mitigation strategies were explored using structured clinician interviews guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR).

Results

Identified modifications related to the intervention process, context, and training. We identified contextual factors affecting the re-implementation of virtually delivered NAVIGATE and then documented mitigating strategies that addressed these barriers. Findings can inform the implementation of virtual EPI services elsewhere, including guidance on processes, training and technology, and approaches to providing care virtually.

Discussion

This study identified modifications, impacts and mitigations to barriers emerging from rapid, unplanned virtual delivery of EPI services. These findings can support delivery of high-quality virtual services to youth with psychosis when virtual care is indicated.

Adapting Evidence-Based Early Psychosis Intervention Services for Virtual Delivery: Protocol for a Pragmatic Mixed Methods Implementation and Evaluation Study

BACKGROUND

Timely and comprehensive treatment in the form of early psychosis intervention (EPI) has become the standard of care for youth with psychosis. While EPI services were designed to be delivered in person, the COVID-19 pandemic required many EPI programs to rapidly transition to virtual delivery, with little evidence to guide intervention adaptations or to support the effectiveness and satisfaction with virtual EPI services.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to explore the adaptations required to deliver NAVIGATE, a model of coordinated specialty care used in EPI, in a virtual format. This study will evaluate implementation of the NAVIGATE model delivered virtually by describing the nature of the adaptations to the intervention, assessing fidelity to the EPI model and the satisfaction of clients, family members, and care providers. We will investigate barriers and facilitators to virtual NAVIGATE implementation, service engagement, and health equity impacts of this work.

METHODS

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) transitioned to delivering NAVIGATE virtually early in the COVID-19 pandemic. The Framework for Reporting Adaptations and Modifications for Evidence-Based Interventions will be used to describe the adaptations required to deliver NAVIGATE virtually. Fidelity to the EPI model will be measured using the First Episode Psychosis Services Fidelity Scale and fidelity to NAVIGATE will be assessed by investigating adherence to its core components. Implementation facilitators and barriers will be explored using semistructured interviews with providers informed by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research. Satisfaction with virtually delivered NAVIGATE will be assessed with virtual client and provider experience surveys and qualitative interviews with clients, family members, and providers. Service engagement data will be collected through review of medical records, and potential impacts of virtually delivered NAVIGATE on different population groups will be assessed with the Health Equity Impact Assessment.

RESULTS

Virtual clinical delivery of NAVIGATE started in March 2020 with additional adaptations and data collection is ongoing. Data will be analyzed using descriptive statistics and survival analysis for quantitative data. Qualitative data will be analyzed using thematic content analysis. Integration of qualitative and quantitative data will occur at the data collection, interpretation, and reporting levels following a convergent design.

CONCLUSIONS

This study will provide information regarding the type of intervention adaptations required for virtual delivery of NAVIGATE for youth with early psychosis, ensuring access to high-quality care for this population during the pandemic and beyond by guiding future implementation in similar contexts.

INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID)

DERR1-10.2196/34591.

The Role of Tele-Education in Advancing Mental Health Quality of Care: A Content Analysis of Project ECHO Recommendations

Introduction: Project Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (Project ECHO^®) is a global-guided practice initiative aimed at building primary care capacity and improving health care quality for underserved populations. This tele-education model brings together primary care providers and subject-matter specialists in online communities of practice to share knowledge, discuss complexities in patient care, and collaborate to reduce health disparities. Methods: Using co-generated clinical care recommendations from ECHO Ontario Mental Health, a mental health focused ECHO program, we explored alignment of recommendations across the Institute of Medicine's (IOM) six domains of health care quality to characterize its impact. A total of 417 recommendations, made for 32 patient cases, were analyzed using a modified directed content analysis method. Each recommendation was coded with one or multiple codes, representing each of the six IOM domains. Key examples of recommendations within each domain are described. Results: An average of 13 recommendations were generated per patient case. The effective domain occurred at least once in each complete set of patient care recommendations. The next highest occurring domain was safe (71.9%), followed by patient-centered (68.8%), efficient (40.6%), equitable (18.8%), and timely (12.5%). Recommendation distribution across the entire data set was effective (97.8%), safe (15.6%), patient-centered (12.0%), efficient (3.6%), equitable (1.9%), and timely (1.4%). Discussion: As the first study to characterize ECHO's impact using health care quality domains, the study highlights ECHO's significant focus on effective, safe, and patient-centered care. These findings can inform ways for ECHO to target quality improvement and measure impact in additional health care quality domains, such as efficient, equitable, and timely.

Primary care teams' experiences of delivering mental health care during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study

Background

Integrated primary care teams are ideally positioned to support the mental health care needs arising during the COVID-19 pandemic. Understanding how COVID-19 has affected mental health care delivery within primary care settings will be critical to inform future policy and practice decisions during the later phases of the pandemic and beyond. The objective of our study was to describe the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on primary care teams’ delivery of mental health care.

Methods

A qualitative study using focus groups conducted with primary care teams in Ontario, Canada. Focus group data was analysed using thematic analysis.

Results

We conducted 11 focus groups with 10 primary care teams and a total of 48 participants. With respect to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health care in primary care teams, we identified three key themes: i) the high demand for mental health care, ii) the rapid transformation to virtual care, and iii) the impact on providers.

Conclusions

From the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, primary care quickly responded to the rising mental health care demands of their patients. Despite the numerous challenges they faced with the rapid transition to virtual care, primary care teams have persevered. It is essential that policy and decision-makers take note of the toll that these demands have placed on providers. There is an immediate need to enhance primary care’s capacity for mental health care for the duration of the pandemic and beyond.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12875-021-01496-8.

Client Satisfaction and Experience With Telepsychiatry: Development and Validation of a Survey Using Clinical Quality Domains

Background

Telepsychiatry is an increasingly used model of mental health care that connects patients with psychiatrists at a distance via videoconference. Telepsychiatry is an effective clinical intervention that improves access to quality care in regions with limited resources or in clinical situations where in-person care is unavailable.

Objective

This study aims to develop a validated survey tool to measure patient experience and satisfaction with telepsychiatry based on the quality of care domains. This study also seeks to understand which health service outcomes were most strongly correlated with overall satisfaction in the context of telepsychiatry.

Methods

The survey created in this study was developed and validated with a panel of subject matter and process experts and was piloted with 274 patients who received clinical consultations through the TeleMental Health Program at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. Factor analysis was used to determine correlations between questions and quality of care domains and was also used to assess model fit.

Results

The study provides a validated survey to measure patient satisfaction and experience with telepsychiatry across 4 domains: access and timeliness, appropriateness, effectiveness, and safety. Both safety and access and timeliness were found to be statistically significant predictors of satisfaction in our sample.

Conclusions

By situating patient satisfaction and experience within this framework, the survey facilitates patient data collection and interpretation through a clinical quality lens.