The sample
The appointments at our psychiatry outpatient clinic were reduced when
COVID-19 measures were implemented and most patients who called the
clinic were advised not to come unless there was an urgent problem. The
number of all monthly contacts (private appointments, blood tests, NPT
and other psychological assessments, forensic cases, etc.), which had
been relatively stable over time (1700-1800 before the pandemic),
dropped abruptly to 1200 in March and to 320 in April 2020 (Figure 1).
The drop in patient volume was similar across the four major diagnostic
groups (telemedicine contacts were not assessed).
Figure 1. Volume of all psychiatry outpatient visits (N=1786) by
diagnosis before and during the pandemic