Study: Majority or post-pandemic mental health appointments remain remote

More than half of mental health appointments — 55% — are being conducted remotely, mainly via videoconferencing rather than in-person visits, according to new research (Source: “A pandemic legacy: Majority of mental health appointments stay remote,” Washington Post via MSN, Feb. 12).

According to a brief research report in the journal, Annals of Internal Medicine, in-person appointments dropped from 81% to 23% in the first few months of the pandemic. By spring 2023, however, phone-based care largely had returned to its pre-pandemic level, but video-based care had stayed close to its pandemic peak, representing a 2,300% increase from its pre-pandemic level.

“The majority (55%) of mental health care continues to be provided via telemedicine, likely due to the ease of adapting mental health services to virtual platforms,” the researchers wrote.