PSYCHIATRIC SERVICES STRATEGIES DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC RUSSIAN MEDICAL ACADEMY OF CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION MINISTRY OF HEALTH OF RUSSIAN FEDERATION

The COVID-19 pandemic and unpreceded measures taken by the government to contain COVID-19 outbreak, quarantine and isolation, the growing fear in the community due to publication of rumors and misinformation in social networks as well as concerns for the patients with mental illness represent the new challenges for psychiatry as a medical specialty that require urgent new organizational and treatment strategies. The primary goal is to optimize patient flow by separating people requiring psychological support and psychiatric care, and provide these services remotely (hotlines and telemedicine consultations). This overview proposes a roadmap for the urgent and preventive organizational and treatment mesures, based on the experience of other countries where COVID-19 has massively spread, as well as practical recommendations on temporary reorganization of the mental health services for providing effective psychological and psychotherapeutic support to the most vulnerable groups of the population, including frontline health professionals fighting COVID-19, and the management of mentally-ill patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Special consideration has been given to psychopharmacotherapy tactics in such patients with a review of potential adverse effects and drug interactions primarily affecting respiratory system.