Telehealth Accounts For One In Three Mental Health Visits Two Years Into Pandemic

Telehealth accounts for greater than one-third of outpatient psychological well being and substance abuse companies two years after COVID-19 started to surge throughout the U.S., a new analysis from the Kaiser Household Basis and Epic Research exhibits.

In March of 2020, about 40% of psychological well being and substance abuse visits have been by way of telehealth as authorities shutdowns and in-person clinics shut down throughout the U.S., however a brand new report Tuesday from the Kaiser Family Foundation and Epic Research, a part of the massive U.S. medical report software program supplier, confirmed telehealth continues an “outsized function assembly psychological well being wants” within the U.S.

The report exhibiting 36% of psychological well being and substance abuse remedy continues to be carried out by telehealth platforms is critical and underscores the demand for digital behavioral healthcare companies.

“At its pandemic peak, telehealth represented 40% of psychological well being and substance use outpatient visits and 11% of different visits (through the March- August 2020 interval),” the Kaiser and Epic evaluation mentioned. “Since then, in-person care has returned and telehealth visits have dropped off to signify 5% of different outpatient care visits, these with out a psychological well being or substance use declare within the March-August 2021 interval. Nonetheless, telehealth use has remained sturdy for psychological well being and substance use remedy, nonetheless representing 36% of those outpatient visits.”

The report comes as extra and bigger gamers are coming into the enterprise of telehealth companies at the same time as COVID-19 instances subside. The net retailer Amazon earlier this 12 months launched a nationwide telehealth platform whereas drugstore chains Walgreens, CVS Well being and Walmart have expanded telehealth to their rising healthcare companies.

In the meantime, giant medical health insurance corporations together with Anthem, Cigna, UnitedHealth Group and array of Blue Cross and Blue Defend plans have expanded their entry to psychological well being companies as a part of the push to deal with the “complete individual” quite than simply the medical facet of well being plan enrollees. UnitedHealth’s Optum well being companies unit has launched its personal telehealth companies enterprise that’s increasing.

The brand new evaluation examined outpatient visits throughout 5 six-month durations between March 2019 and August 2021, utilizing knowledge from greater than 126 million sufferers from over 156 Epic organizations, together with 889 hospitals and 19,420 clinics throughout all 50 states, Epic Analysis and Kaiser mentioned.

“Psychological well being and substance use visits signify a rising share of each telehealth visits and outpatient visits general, however the development is far more pronounced for telehealth,” the report mentioned. “By the interval of March-August 2021, 39% of telehealth outpatient visits have been primarily for a psychological well being or substance use analysis in comparison with 24% a 12 months earlier and 11% two years earlier. Amongst all outpatient visits (in-person and over telehealth), the share with a psychological or substance use analysis grew from 4% in March-August 2019 to eight% through the pandemic, and has remained at 8% in March-August 2021.”