Patient and provider experiences of telemental health during the COVID-19 pandemic in a New York City academic medical center.

Objective: We aimed to evaluate patient and provider experiences with telemental health (TMH) at an academic outpatient psychiatry department in New York City during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: Patients and providers completed online surveys evaluating their experience with TMH during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Surveys were distributed to 1,178 patients and 287 providers from July 2020 through October 2020.

Lithium Use and Non-use for Pregnant and Postpartum Women with Bipolar Disorder.

Purpose Of Review: Despite being recognized as a first-line treatment for bipolar disorder, there is still inconsistent use of lithium in perinatal populations. This article will review data regarding lithium use during the peripartum and provide management recommendations for general psychiatric clinicians.

Recent Findings: In contrast to prior data, recent studies indicate that lithium use in pregnancy is associated with either no increased malformations risk or a small increase in risk for cardiac malformations including Ebstein's anomaly.

Pitfalls and Unexpected Benefits of an Electronic Hand Hygiene Monitoring System.

Background: No single strategy is more effective than proper hand hygiene (HH) in reducing the spread of nosocomial infections. Unfortunately, health care worker compliance with HH is imperfect. We sought to improve HH compliance using an electronic hand hygiene monitoring system (EHHMS) in 2 units to collect unbiased data and provide feedback.