Treatment outcomes and patient satisfaction of a virtual partial hospital program: A mixed-method study

ABSTRACT

Objective

Despite a proliferation of virtual partial hospital programs (PHP) during the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a dearth of research on such programs. In the current study, we compared treatment outcomes and patient satisfaction between an in-person and a virtual PHP. Further, we examined patients’ qualitative feedback about the virtual PHP.

Method

Participants included 282 patients attending a virtual PHP during the COVID-19 pandemic and 470 patients attending an in-person PHP one year prior. Patients completed daily measures of symptom severity, and post-treatment measures of patient satisfaction and treatment outcomes. Patients in the virtual PHP provided feedback about virtual care. Quantitative data were analyzed using multilevel modeling, and qualitative data were analyzed using the principles of inductive analysis.

Results

Patients experienced a reduction in depression (b = -.28, p < .001) and anxiety symptoms (b = -.25, p < .001) over time and reported high satisfaction in both the in-person and virtual PHPs. There were no significant differences across programs. Virtual PHP patients identified unique advantages and disadvantages of virtual care.

Conclusion

Our results suggest that virtual PHPs should be explored as an ongoing model of care that may help to systematically reduce barriers to accessing mental health services.

Keywords:

• Partial hospital
• telehealth
• treatment outcomes
• patient satisfaction
• mixed methods

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Fewer patients completed the MINI in the virtual PHP due to delays with migrating the interview to a virtual format. Further, approximately 20% of patients in both programs did not complete the MINI interview because it was not clinically indicated (e.g., due to psychiatric concerns that warranted immediate intervention). Nevertheless, we report on data from the subsample that completed the MINI to help characterize the current sample.

2 These rates did not differ across in-person and virtual PHPs, χ²(1) < 0.99, p > .32.