Mental Health Specialist Telemedicine Uptake and Patient Location

What is the association between the proportion of visits delivered via telemedicine by mental health specialists and the percentage of patients living in rural, low-access-to-care, or distant communities?In this cohort study of 17 742 mental health specialists serving a Medicare fee-for-service population, greater telemedicine uptake was associated with small increases in the percentage of patients living in rural, low-access-to-care, or distant communities between 2018 and 2023. A sizeable fraction of the observed changes was accounted for by established patients moving farther away (vs strictly by seeing more new patients from these communities).These findings suggest that telemedicine uptake is not associated with substantial increases in the mental health treatment of patients in rural, low-access-to-care, or distant communities, highlighting the need for tailored policy interventions.

Corresponding Author: Ateev Mehrotra, MD, Department of Health Services, Policy, and Practice, Brown School of Public Health, 121 S Main St, Providence, RI 02903 (ateev_mehrotra@brown.edu).

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