A new study coordinated by researchers at RAND published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine shows a sharp hike in the usage of telehealth during the height of the coronavirus pandemic. This rise was driven more by people reaching out for mental health services than for physical ailments.

This momentum might not be sustainable post pandemic if the federal and state officials don’t take conclusive steps to make it’s access easy and equitable.

The study considered more than 2,000 responses to the survey that found almost half turned to telehealth as they continued to access care during the peak of the pandemic. About 54 percent were seeking treatment for a behavioral health issue. 43 percent took treatment for a chronic health condition.

While before the pandemic, around 40 percent were seeking care for a chronic health issue, and 15 percent were seeking care for a behavioral health concern.

This shows a strong need for increased access and coverage of telemental health after the pandemic due to the rising rates of depression, substance abuse, and stress.

According to researchers, the mercurial rise in the use of telehealth was due to patients wanting to continue consulting their own doctors, who shut down offices and switched to virtual care.

But, when the public health emergency ends and doctors switch back to in-person care or a hybrid telehealth model, most patients are likely to ditch telehealth in favour of resorting to visit doctor’s office.

Before the pandemic, patients were reluctant to use telehealth as it meant consulting a provider other than their own. According to researchers, the ability to sustain visiting one’s own doctor through telehealth is a critical point while making telehealth a permanent phenomenon of routine healthcare.

Two strategies can be applied to improve telehealth adoption.

1.       Convince patients that virtual care is not a replacement for in-person care with your primary care provider. Infact its about reducing wasteful expenses and improving care.

2.       Focus on proving that direct-to-consumer telehealth platforms give prominence to patients of an available care provider – not one’s own PCP. For someone accustomed to consulting a particular doctor, a telehealth visit with any other provider could be best for a quick, one-time care concern. Especially when one’s PCP is occupied, and scheduling an appointment would take many days or weeks.