Southern States Saw Increase in Telehealth Utilization During Summer

Telehealth utilization rose between July and August 2021 in the northeastern, western, and southern states, with the South seeing the highest increase, according to FAIR Health’s Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker.

This comes after June and July 2021, when telehealth use declined in the South and nationally.

August put an end to that trend. From July to August, telehealth utilization in southern states increased by 12.9 percent. Telehealth accounted for 3.1 percent of all medical claim lines in July and 3.5 percent in August, found the tracker, which has documented telehealth utilization across the country since May 2020 using data from privately insured populations.

The boost occurred at the same time that the South experienced a surge of COVID-19 cases caused by the Delta variant. More patients may have sought telehealth services as opposed to in-person care during this time to reduce the risk of COVID-19 exposure and transmission, the press release noted.

The West and Northeast experienced increases in telehealth utilization in August as well, seeing 2.04 and 1.75 percent escalations, respectively. In contrast, the Midwest experienced a 3.33 percent decrease in telehealth utilization.

COVID-19 moved to one of the top five telehealth diagnoses in August, a spot it hadn’t occupied since January 2021. COVID-19 was the third most common telehealth diagnosis in the South and the fifth most common in the country. It appeared in the top five diagnoses in every region except for the Northeast.

Mental health conditions were consistently the most common telehealth diagnosis in every region. However, the percentage share of telehealth claim lines for this diagnosis decreased nationally from July to August. The South saw the biggest decline, going from 50.1 percent in July to 47.5 percent in August, the report found.

“The decrease may have been related to having a greater share of nonmental health conditions, including COVID-19, move to telehealth because of the recent pandemic surge,” the press release stated.

The Midwest had the highest telehealth utilization rate for mental health services at 69 percent, with the Northeast following closely with 67.9 percent.

The pandemic only exacerbated the mental and behavioral health crisis that the nation has already been facing. The combination of the heightened need for mental health services and stay-at-home orders led to an increase in virtual behavioral health services.

A past study using 2020 data revealed that the spike of telehealth use during the first few months of the pandemic was largely attributed to individuals seeking mental health services rather than physical care. More than half of the 2,052 respondents used telehealth during those months and 54 percent of telehealth users sought care for behavioral health concerns.

According to FAIR Health’s report, generalized anxiety disorder had the highest percentage of mental health telehealth claim lines in every region except for the West, where major depressive disorder was slightly more common.

Meanwhile, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) appeared in the top five mental health telehealth diagnoses in the Northeast for the first time in months, the press release said. PTSD was consistently in the top five mental health diagnoses in the Midwest only.

CPT code 90837 used for 60 minutes of psychotherapy maintained its spot as the most used procedure code in every region during July and August.

On the national level, CPT code 99441 for five to ten minutes of medical discussion with a physician over the phone appeared in the top five telehealth procedure codes. A month prior, its spot was held by CPT code 90833 for 30 minutes of psychotherapy performed with evaluation and management visit, which did not appear in the top five codes during August.

Experts predict that patients and providers will continue to use telehealth as the pandemic persists, and many may still choose virtual care delivery over in-person care in a post-pandemic world.