A Look at the Growing Acceptance of Remote Mental Healthcare
There’s been an ongoing and steady rise in the acceptance of remote, internet-based care.
And while the pandemic has expedited this trend, it’s only extending a trend already present.
For over twenty years, people have been trying remote mental healthcare and found tremendous success.
That rich experience, paired with the natural correlation remote mental healthcare has with the efficacy of the technology, is a big reason for today’s successful opinion of the service.
The Initial Distrust of Remote Care
Since its inception, remote care has come with its fair share of stigma.
A lot of the stigma around it was simply because it was brand new and that the technology behind it was still in its infancy.
Because that technology produced unreliable and low-quality video connections, those negatives were stamped onto the care, not the technology.
Let’s take a look at a few of these concerns.
Doesn’t Work –
At first, many assumed that remote mental healthcare wouldn’t work as well as in-person care. How could it?
Because the technology behind telehealth produced unreliable and low-quality video connections, the negative opinions formed around the technology were also stamped on the care.
Several studies have been done specifically on the efficacy of mental health care, whether it was face-to-face or video.
This, and other studies, suggest no noticeable difference in quality between the two forms.
The study says it’s expected that the normalcy of telehealthcare will keep increasing over the next few decades.
And that was before the pandemic.
Limited View –
A practical concern about streaming was that there was less to see. In person, a provider can see things like involuntary movements, which may be outside of the camera’s view during a remote session.
These concerns were much less after beginning telehealth services, many providers claiming they had the same confidence in the quality of their care through both medians.
Lack of Interest –
Many providers initially thought that those who want remote care would simply opt-in for in-person sessions and that offering remote sessions was pointless.
The pandemic helped reveal that most experienced similar levels of quality in their care, whether it be provided in-person or on video.
But, for decades, there have been several groups relying on remote sessions like (HYPERLINK TO IMPROVEMENT POST)
- People living in rural areas
- Post-disaster areas
- Veterans
- The youth
The Future
If there is anything we learned in the last few years it’s that we don’t know what the future holds.
But that doesn’t mean we can’t speculate!
The growing acceptance of remote care will probably keep up as the technology behind it becomes cheaper, easier to get, and of better quality.
This will continue helping more and more people find care.
We’re even seeing follow-up appointments for physical check-ups done remotely, with great results (and imagine not having to wait in a waiting room for an hour before your appointment!).
Remote care is likely to continue blending with other forms of care, both supporting each other.
Many providers considering a private practice pass on the opportunity solely because of unfounded concerns. But as the acceptance of remote care continues to grow, they may end starting later, regretting their delay.
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