How Australian Health Care Services Adapted to Telehealth During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Survey of Telehealth Professionals

Background: In Australia, telehealth services were used as an alternative method of health care delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through a realist analysis of a survey of health professionals, we have sought to identify the underlying mechanisms that have assisted Australian health services adapt to the physical separation between clinicians and patients.Methods: Using a critical realist ontology and epistemology, we undertook an online survey of health professionals subscribing to the Australian Telehealth Society newsletter. The survey had close- and open-ended questions, constructed to identify contextual changes in the operating environment for telehealth services, and assess the mechanisms which had contributed to these changes. We applied descriptive and McNemar's Chi-square analysis for the close-ended component of the survey, and a reflexive thematic analysis approach for the open-ended questions which were framed within the activity based funding system which had previously limited telehealth services to regional Australia.Results: Of the 91 respondents most (73%) reported a higher volume of telephone-based care since COVID and an increase in use of video consultations (60% of respondents). Respondents felt that the move to provide care using telehealth services had been a “forced adoption” where clinicians began to use telehealth services (often for the first time) to maintain health care. Respondents noted significant changes in managerial and medical culture which supported the legitimisation of telehealth services as a mode of access to care. The support of leaders and the use personal and organisational networks to facilitate the operation of telehealth service were felt to be particularly valuable. Access to, and reliability of, the technology were considered extremely important for services. Respondents also welcomed the increased availability of more human and financial resources.Conclusions: During the pandemic, mechanisms that legitimise practise, build confidence, support relationships and supply resources have fostered the use of telehealth. This ongoing interaction between telehealth services, contexts and mechanisms is complex. The adoption of telehealth access to enable physically separated care, may mark a “new context;” or it could be that once the pandemic passes, previous policies and practises will re-assert themselves and curb support for telehealth-enabled care.

0508 Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Shows Favorable Response for Insomnia in Depression with Greater Response in Males and in Those Less Than 65 Years of Age

Introduction Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is FDA approved for the treatment of resistant depression and multiple studies have demonstrated improvement of insomnia in both those with and without depression. Methods 50 patients were studied while undergoing TMS treatment for resistant depression and utilizing the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) for evaluation of benefit. Using the Brainsway dTMS system over the LDPFC at 120% MT for an average of 31 treatments, our study demonstrated benefit for both mood and insomnia. We observed an improvement on the PHQ-9 from 17.3 to 7.53, on the BDI from 30.44 to 11.75, on the ISI from 13.47 to 9.31, and on the PSQI from 11.78 to 9.08. Focusing specifically on the insomnia response, we compared an equal number of both male versus female patients, and those > and < than 65 years of age. Results Using paired t-test comparisons, men and those less than 65 demonstrated statistically significant improvement. The male population demonstrated statistically significant decreases of t=2.39, 13df, P=.03 on the ISI, and t=2.59, 13df, P=.02 on the PSQI. For women the result was t=1.35, 13df, P=.20 on the ISI, and t=2.05, 13df, P=.06 on the PSQI. In the elderly (>65) decreases were not statistically significant at t=.62, 14df, P=.54 on the ISI, and t=1.26, 14df, P=.23 on the PSQI. For those < 65 years old statistically significant decreases observed were t=3.37, 14df, P=.005 on the ISI, and t=3.5, 14df, P=.004 on the PSQI. Conclusion TMS treatment of depression resulted in statistically significant benefits on co-existing insomnia in males and those less than 65 years of age. As insomnia may be a precipitating or perpetuating factor in depression and may result in depression relapse, attention to this symptom is of clinical benefit. Support **No support was given for this study. Dr. Stultz is a speaker for Harmony Biosciences and has served on their advisory committee. She is also a speaker for Jazz Pharmaceuticals. She is the co-editor for the Clinical TMS Society Newsletter and on the education committee.

Conclusion: ‘Likeness in unlikeness’

Almost thirty years after he and Anne Smith published their foundational essay on the quarrel between Dickens and Martineau, Ken Fielding returned to the pair’s complex relationship, rounding out a lifelong interest in both authors. Writing on this second occasion for the Martineau Society Newsletter...