Telemental Health, Hybrid, and In-Person Outpatient Mental Health Care in the US

How are mental health outpatients in the US distributed across telehealth, hybrid, and in-person care?In this cross-sectional study including 4720 participants, mental health outpatients most commonly received all in-person care, followed by all telehealth and hybrid care. Younger age, higher education, greater income, private insurance, use of psychotherapy, treatment by social workers or counselors, and less than serious psychological distress were associated with use of all telehealth care.Telehealth has become a common means of receiving outpatient mental health care, especially among socioeconomic groups with the financial means and resources to exercise treatment preferences.

Corresponding Author: Mark Olfson, MD, MPH, Department of Psychiatry, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, 1051 Riverside Dr, New York, NY 10032 (mo49@cumc.columbia.edu).

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