Impact of a Perinatal Psychiatry Access Program on Patient Experience: A Cross-Sectional Study

This study examined the experiences of perinatal patients whose providers consulted a perinatal psychiatry access program to address patient mental health.

In this cross-sectional study, perinatal patients whose providers contacted the psychiatry access program within the previous 6 months completed a survey to assess their experiences with receiving mental health care and mental health service recommendations from their provider.

Among 73 participants, 68 (93%) received at least one provider resource or referral recommendation, of whom 68% (N=46) followed through with at least one recommendation. Barriers included scheduling conflicts, lack of child care, and discomfort with therapy or group-based services. Most participants expressed satisfaction with their provider's role in addressing mental health concerns.

Although patient satisfaction was high, engagement with some recommended services was low. Future research should investigate patient-centered approaches and how to better connect patients to recommended services.