Telehealth services offering mental healthcare were supposed to be a revolution in rural America; however, evidence demonstrated that we are still far away from fulfilling this anticipation. Many individuals went to telehealth during the pandemic since in-person therapy was unavailable and many experts thought that this moment in time would finally close the disconnect that has existed in rural access to mental healthcare. A recent study in JAMA Network Open, reported on by U.S. News & World Report, showed that while there has been a large overall increase of telehealth providers, access for rural patients remained at approximately the same amount as before telehealth, when compared to patients living in urban areas.
For most individuals in urban and suburban locations, telehealth has allowed them to make same week appointments, have flexible appointment times, and reduces the stigma of receiving services, as help is now just a video call away. This is not the case for many individuals who live in rural areas. In many areas of the country where patients have been reported to use telehealth services, there remains barriers of accessibility due to unreliable broadband internet, lack of privacy within their homes due to distance in the home and shortage of providers with licensure in the patient’s home community. Imagine living with relatives in a small house, needing to work two jobs, and trying to talk about your trauma over a questionable internet connection; unfortunately, this is the experience of many rural patients.
The doctors participating in the research on telehealth mental health service provision have stated that telehealth services are not problematic, but they provide an additional resource in an already inequitable system. Telehealth mental health service providers can continue providing services primarily to those who were already closer to accessing those service providers without adequate infrastructure, additional rural clinicians, or policies that facilitate a therapist’s ability to treat telehealth patients across state lines.
To create true equity, advocates say we must invest in broadband infrastructure, expand community clinics, and bring telehealth mental health services together with on-the-ground services such as mobile crisis response teams and peer support centers. For rural residents of the United States, the news about telehealth mental health service providers is bittersweet; although telehealth mental health services provide a positive step forward, telehealth mental health services have not yet been the bridge that they hoped they would be.
Source: U.S. News & World Report – Telemedicine Not Closing the Mental Health Gap in Rural Areas
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