Telehealth Continues to Play Major Role for Mental Health, SUD Care

While use of telehealth services for most outpatient visits has dropped across most of healthcare after soaring during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, use of telehealth for mental health and substance use disorder (SUD) has remained strong, according to new data from Kaiser Family Foundation and Epic Research.

Before the pandemic, telehealth accounted for less than 1% of outpatient mental health and SUD treatment. From March to August 2020, however, that figure escalated to 40% for mental health and SUD, and 11% of other outpatient visits. With the return of in-person care, telehealth accounted for just 5% of other outpatient visits over the same period 1 year later, but remained high for mental health/SUD at 36%.

Furthermore, from March to August 2021, primary mental health/SUD diagnoses accounted for 39% of all telehealth-based outpatient visits, up from 24% in 2020 and 11% in 2019.

Other trends observed by Kaiser and Epic during the March to August 2021 period included:

• A higher share (55%) of rural patients relied on telehealth services for mental health/SUD compared with patients in urban areas (35%). The same disparity was not observed in the use of telehealth for other outpatient visits (5% vs 6%).
• Use of telehealth among patients between the ages of 19 and 64 outpaced those younger than 19 and older than 64.
• The share of mental health/SUD visits delivered via telehealth varied by condition, ranging from 43% of trauma-related patients to just 16% of patients being treated for a primary stimulant use disorder diagnosis.

“Data during the pandemic suggest there is a concerning increase in the number of individuals reporting symptoms of depression or anxiety and showing signs of substance use disorder,” the researchers wrote. “Many employers have expressed concern about the availability of mental health providers in their plan network. Given the increased need for services and concerns about the availability of mental health and substance use care providers, some payers may look to bolster access to these services through telehealth.”

“As policy makers continue to look at how to regulate and pay for telehealth services, it is important to consider opportunities for patient choice so that telehealth is not necessarily given as the only option for those looking for care.”

Reference

Lo J, Rae M, Amin K, Cox C, Panchal N, Miller B. Telehealth has played an outsized role meeting mental health needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Kaiser Family Foundation. March 15, 2022. Accessed April 13, 2022.