Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): Behavioral Health Among Older Adults SAMHSA released an infographic report highlighting substance use and mental health indicators among older adults aged 60 or older in the United States. Notably, the report includes telehealth in SAMHSA’s definitions of substance use treatment and mental health treatment.

Harvard Medical School: What Are the Most Popular Video-Based Medical Visits? Researchers analyzed more than 277 million visits within the Veterans Affairs Health Care System from January 2019 to August 2023. Scientists found that video-based visits remain close to the peak pandemic level of about 12 percent, which is a 2,300 percent increase from the prepandemic level. As of August 2023, video appointments made up about 4 percent of specialist visits, 4 percent of primary care visits, and 35 percent of mental health care encounters.

Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Improving Cardiovascular Health in Rural United States: Role of Academic Medical Centers (AMCs) Telemedicine enables patients to connect with clinicians without driving to a physical location, an attractive option for rural patients with long travel distances. Telemedicine offers the potential for rural residents to receive specialized care from cardiologists and other subspecialists that would otherwise not be available. AMCs and other major health systems have the resources to collaborate with rural health systems to implement telemedicine on a wider scale than each could do individually. Researchers call to action for AMCs and large [...]

Medical University of South Carolina: Telehealth Utilization in Clinical Trials: Facilitators, Barriers, and Future Directions Telehealth implementation in clinical trials is not as well developed as compared to telehealth utilization in other areas of medical care. This study explored factors that foster and hinder the effective use of telehealth in clinical trials and how these insights can inform future strategies and policies. The findings suggest the expanded use of telehealth in clinical research to improve participant accessibility, diversity and recruitment, cost reductions, an increase efficiency. The policy implications include standardizing state licensure requirements and consistency in Investigational Review Boards [...]

Journal of Technology in Behavioral Science: Transitioning to Telehealth to Treat Concurrent Disorders: Provider and Patient Perspectives During the COVID-19 Pandemic This study examined the use of telehealth within concurrent disorder populations through the examination of both clinicians and patients accessing treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Commonly reported benefits by patients included increased accessibility to treatment (e.g., ability to attend appointments with more ease and frequency) and reduced traveling and parking expenses (for patients) by providers. The majority of providers and patients expressed the desire to use a combination of in-person and telehealth services in the future, post-pandemic. [...]