Declines seen in scope and modality of services
By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter
FRIDAY, July 19, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Telehealth availability for mental health services has declined since the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency, according to a study published online July 10 in JAMA Network Open.
Ryan K. McBain, Ph.D., from RAND Corporation in Washington, D.C., and colleagues evaluated changes in availability of telehealth services at 1,404 U.S. outpatient mental health treatment facilities during (December 2022 to March 2023) and 1,001 facilities after (September to November 2023; wave 2) the COVID-19 public health emergency.
The researchers found that the percentage of facilities offering telehealth declined from 81.6 to 79.0 percent (odds ratio [OR], 0.84; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.72 to 1.00; P 
“Telehealth availability has declined since the public health emergency end with respect to scope and modality of services, suggesting targeted policies may be necessary to sustain telehealth access,” the authors write.
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