Journal
GENERAL HOSPITAL PSYCHIATRY
Volume 67, Issue -, Pages 100-106Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC
DOI: 10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2020.09.004
Keywords
Health care systems; COVID-19; Mental health; Substance use disorders; Disparities
Categories
Funding
- National Institutes of Health: NIDA [P30 DA035772, R01DA048533]
- National Institutes of Health: NIMH [R01MH112829]
- National Institutes of Health: NIAID [R01AI150295]
- National Institutes of Health: AHRQ [R01HS025375]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Objective: To examine changes in outpatient visits for mental health and/or substance use disorders (MH/SUD) in an integrated healthcare organization during the initial Massachusetts COVID-19 surge and partial state reopening. Methods: Observational study of outpatient MH/SUD visits January 1st-June 30th, 2018-2020 by: 1) visit diagnosis group, 2) provider type, 3) patient race/ethnicity, 4) insurance, and 5) visit method (telemedicine vs. in-person). Results: Each year, January-June 52,907-73,184 patients were seen for a MH/SUD visit. While non-MH/SUD visits declined during the surge relative to 2020 pre-pandemic (-38.2%), MH/SUD visits increased (9.1%)-concentrated in primary care (35.3%) and non-Hispanic Whites (10.5%). During the surge, MH visit volume increased 11.7% while SUD decreased 12.7%. During partial reopening, while MH visits returned to 2020 pre-pandemic levels, SUD visits declined 31.1%; MH/SUD visits decreased by Hispanics (-33.0%) and non-Hispanic Blacks (-24.6%), and among Medicaid (-19.4%) and Medicare enrollees (-20.9%). Telemedicine accounted for similar to 5% of MH/SUD visits pre-pandemic and 83.3%-83.5% since the surge. Conclusions: MH/SUD visit volume increased during the COVID surge and was supported by rapidly-scaled telemedicine. Despite this, widening diagnostic and racial/ethnic disparities in MH/SUD visit volume during the surge and reopening suggest additional barriers for these vulnerable populations, and warrant continued monitoring and research.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available