June 26, 2024
• Analysis Spotlight
In the course of the coronavirus pandemic, public well being measures and restrictions impacted in-person well being care visits, resulting in a surge in telehealth companies as a means of accessing evaluation and remedy. Significantly in psychological well being care, telehealth noticed a big rise, and utilization stays excessive even post-pandemic. Nonetheless, regardless of the elevated utilization of telehealth companies, there is a restricted understanding of the provision and construction of those companies.
What did the researchers do?
In an NIMH-funded research, researchers led by Jonathan Cantor, Ph.D. , of the RAND Company investigated the provision of various kinds of telehealth companies and the time it took sufferers to entry telehealth care.
Between December 2022 and March 2023, researchers contacted greater than 1,900 outpatient psychological well being care services to ask about telehealth companies. The underlying pattern got here from outpatient psychological well being remedy services, not particular person practitioners.
The researchers used a secret shopper method, utilizing a script that mirrored info a potential affected person would possibly ask when inquiring about telehealth companies. The key buyers requested concerning the availability of telehealth companies for treating main depressive dysfunction, generalized nervousness dysfunction, or schizophrenia. In addition they requested concerning the particular companies provided by way of telehealth (behavioral remedy, medicine administration, diagnostic companies) and the variety of days they must wait earlier than having their first telehealth appointment. Each women and men served as secret buyers, and the names utilized by the patrons have been chosen to mirror quite a lot of racial and ethnic backgrounds.
What did the researchers discover?
Out of the greater than 1,900 services contacted, the researchers obtained replies from 1,404. Amongst these, 1,221 have been accepting new sufferers. Of these 1,221 services, 80% (980) provided telehealth companies. Out of the 980 remedy services that provided telehealth companies:
97% offered counseling services77% offered medicine management96% offered diagnostic companies
Among the many services that responded to the telehealth query, the researchers discovered:
Not-for-profit and for-profit non-public remedy services have been extra more likely to supply telehealth companies than public remedy services.Therapy services in metropolitan areas have been extra probably than non-urban areas to supply medicine administration however much less more likely to supply diagnostic companies.The typical wait time for a telehealth appointment was 14 days (starting from 4 to 75 days, relying on the ability contacted).
What do the findings imply?
The researchers discovered that a number of the services they initially reached out to for info didn’t reply, suggesting that individuals in search of any kind of psychological well being care could expertise obstacles to accessing it.
Of the services that did reply, most have been accepting new sufferers, and most offered telehealth companies; nevertheless, the provision of these companies and the kind of care provided assorted by location and state. This means there could also be disparities in entry to telehealth companies throughout the USA.
The researchers word that telehealth companies and availability could differ at well being facilities not included on this research and that the provision of expertise that makes telehealth potential—equivalent to broadband companies—was not examined on this evaluation.
Reference
Cantor, J., Schuler, M. S., Matthews, S., Kofner, A., Breslau, J., & McBain, R. Okay. (2024). Availability of psychological telehealth companies within the US. JAMA Well being Discussion board, 5(2), Article e235142. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamahealthforum.2023.5142
Grant
MH126150
