Increase in telemental health services on the Medicare Benefits Schedule after the start of the coronavirus pandemic: data from 2019 to 2021
Centaine L. Snoswell
A B * , Urska Arnautovska C , Helen M. Haydon A B , Dan Siskind C D and Anthony C. Smith A B E
A Centre for Online Health, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Ground Floor Building 33, Woolloongabba, Qld 4102, Australia.
B Centre for Health Services Research, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld, Australia.
C Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld, Australia.
D Metro South Addiction and Mental Health Service, Brisbane, Qld, Australia.
E Centre for Innovative Medical Technology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.
Australian Health Review 46(5) 544-549 https://doi.org/10.1071/AH22078
Submitted: 1 April 2022 Accepted: 23 May 2022 Published: 23 June 2022
© 2022 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of AHHA. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY).
Abstract
Objective To describe the change in telemental health service volume that resulted from the introduction of the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) item numbers in 2020 for services provided by psychologists and psychiatrists in Australia for a 3-year period, from January 2019 to December 2021.
Methods Quarterly MBS activity and cost data for mental health services provided by consultant psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, and psychologists between January 2019 and December 2021 were extracted from the MBS statistics website. Data were grouped by profession and delivery mode (in-person, telephone or videoconference) and reported using activity counts. Descriptive analysis and interrupted time-series regression analysis were conducted. Specific descriptive explorations were also conducted for psychiatrists, including: new client consultations, review or general consultations, and group consultations.
Results The delivery of mental health services by telehealth (telemental health) during the pandemic has increased (P < 0.0001). When the pandemic started in March 2020, telemental health services provided by psychiatrists and psychologists increased from a combined 1–2% per quarter to 29% videoconference and 20% telephone in quarter two 2020. After the onset of the pandemic, videoconference remained the primary form of telehealth for these professions. However, the telephone accounted for approximately a third of the telehealth activity after the new item numbers were introduced.
Conclusion Telemental health services are more likely to be conducted by videoconference than by telephone. The observed increase in telehealth service activity confirms how crucial appropriate funding models are to the sustainability of telehealth services in Australia. The growth in telehealth was used to support people with mental health conditions in Australia.
Keywords: Australia, psychiatry, psychology, telehealth, telemedicine, telephone, videoconference.
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