TeleMental Health: Standards, Reimbursement, and Interstate Practice

Adams, Susie; Rice, Michael J.; Jones, Sara; Herzog, E.G.; Mackenzie, L; Oleck, Leslie

doi:10.1177/1078390318763963

Cited by 30 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Telemedicine supports the provision of healthcare for a variety of conditions (e.g., diabetes, hypertension, heart failure, cancer) [5][6][7][8][9], but its potential to shape the delivery of mental health care is undeniable. Systematic and meta-analytic reviews have demonstrated that mental health treatment delivered via telemedicine, or telemental health, is equally, and in some cases more, effective than treatment delivered in-person and results in higher patient satisfaction at reduced costs [10][11][12][13]. The effectiveness and satisfaction of telemental health treatment is likely to be due to its ability to alleviate physical (e.g., travel time, missed work, and financial costs) and socio-cultural (e.g., concerns relating to stigma) barriers that are notorious for impeding healthcare accessibility and continuity [14][15][16][17][18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acceptability of Telemedicine Features to Promote Its Uptake in Practice: A Survey of Community Telemental Health Providers

Bunnell

Barrera

Paige³

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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Understanding what motivates mental health providers to use telemedicine (i.e., telemental health) is critical for optimizing its uptake, especially during unprecedented times (e.g., the COVID-19 pandemic). Drawing from the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), this report examined the characteristics of telemental health providers and how the acceptability of telemedicine features contributes to their intention to use the technology more often in practice. Telemental health providers (N = 177) completed an online survey between March and May 2019. Most providers (75%) spent less than 25% of their work-week using telemedicine, but 70% reported an intention to use telemedicine more in the future. The belief that telemedicine affords greater access to patients, work-life balance, flexibility in providing care, and the opportunity to be at the forefront of innovative care were significant predictors of intentions to use the technology more in the future. Other significant predictors included needing assistance to coordinate insurance reimbursements, manage a successful telemedicine practice, and integrate the telemedicine program with other health IT software. Findings have important implications for increasing the frequency of telemedicine use among telemental health providers. Future research and practice should leverage providers’ positive beliefs about telemedicine acceptability and consider their needs to enhance its uptake.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acceptability of Telemedicine Features to Promote Its Uptake in Practice: A Survey of Community Telemental Health Providers

Bunnell

Barrera

Paige³

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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“…This work has often gone unreimbursed. Although psychotherapy and pharmacology services are billable with telehealth fee-for-service codes for beneficiaries of Medicare and a growing number of Medicaid and commercial payers 18–20 , behavioral health care management has not historically qualified as a billable service in this regard. In the CoCM model, psychiatric consultants see a relatively small percentage of the total patient panel face-to-face, limiting their fee-for-service billing opportunities.…”

Section: Treatment - the Collaborative Care Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Financing for Collaborative Care—a Narrative Review

Carlo

Unützer

Ratzliff

et al. 2018

Curr Treat Options Psych

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Purpose of Review Collaborative care (CoCM) is an evidence-based model for the treatment of common mental health conditions in the primary care setting. Its workflow encourages systematic communication among clinicians outside of face-to-face patient encounters, which has posed financial challenges in traditional fee-for-service reimbursement environments. Recent Findings Organizations have employed various financing strategies to promote CoCM sustainability, including external grants, alternate payment model contracts with specific payers and the use of billing codes for individual components of CoCM. In recent years, Medicare approved fee-for-service, time-based billing codes for CoCM that allow for the reimbursement of patient care performed outside of face-to-face encounters. A growing number of Medicaid and commercial payers have followed suit, either recognizing the fee-for-service codes or contracting to reimburse in alternate payment models. Summary Although significant challenges remain, novel methods for payment and cooperative efforts among insurers have helped move CoCM closer to financial sustainability.

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“…Telehealth is a viable option for many providers, so long as the right technologies are in place. According to a 2018 JAPNA article by Adams et al, telemental health has been shown to have comparable (or even sometimes better) outcomes when compared to in-person care. For a great overview of considerations when implementing telemental health, I encourage you to access this article.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%