NBC News (5/23, Berger) reported, “When the Covid-19 pandemic forced behavioral health” clinicians “to stop seeing patients in person and instead hold therapy sessions remotely, the switch” resulted in fewer patients skipping appointments. Just nine “percent of psychiatrists reported that all patients kept their appointments before the pandemic, according to an American Psychiatric Association report,” but once clinicians “switched to telepsychiatry, that number increased to 32 percent.” What’s more, both patients and clinicians “say teletherapy has largely been an effective lifeline for people struggling with anxiety, depression and other psychological issues during an extraordinarily difficult time.” In addition, “virtual visits can…save patients money, because they might not need to travel, take time off work or pay for child care, said” Jay Shore, MD, MPH, “chairperson of the American Psychiatric Association’s telepsychiatry committee and a psychiatrist at the University of Colorado medical school.”
Related Links:
— “Remote therapy was a mental health lifeline during the pandemic. What happens now? “Eric Berger, NBC News, May 23, 2021