Medical Treatment System for Psychosomatic Medicine during the COVID-19 Pandemic : Discussion of Patients’ Awareness of Medical Visits and Infectious Disease Countermeasures

<p>Objectives : This study investigated patients’ awareness of psychosomatic medicine visits and infectious disease countermeasures in medical treatment. We assessed patients’ psychological status to clarify the medical care system for psychosomatic medicine during the COVID-19 pandemic.</p><p>Method : This was a retrospective study of data from psychological tests and questionnaires distributed to outpatients attending the Department of Psychosomatic Medicine at Kindai University from May 12 to June 22, 2020.</p><p>Results : We collected 142 valid responses. The results indicated that 40% of patients were in the high-risk group for posttraumatic stress disorder, 70% felt they needed medical treatment, and more than 40% did not feel reluctant to visit the hospital during widespread infection. Regarding infectious disease countermeasures in medical treatment, significantly more patients said infectious disease countermeasures were necessary and significantly fewer said they felt reluctant. However, there were differences by patients’ awareness, age, and psychological status.</p><p>Discussion : During the COVID-19 pandemic, many patients needed medical treatment. Implementing infectious disease countermeasures in medical treatment led to a sense of security for patients, but patients’ demographics and psychological status need to be considered.</p>