Abstract
Objective:The Australian federal government introduced new COVID-19 psychiatrist Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) telehealth items to assist with providing private specialist care. We investigate private psychiatrists’ uptake of video and telephone telehealth, as well as total (telehealth and face-to-face) consultations for Quarter 3 (July–September), 2020. We compare these to the same quarter in 2019.Method:MBS-item service data were extracted for COVID-19-psychiatrist video and telephone telehealth item numbers and compared with Quarter 3 (July–September), 2019, of face-to-face consultations for the whole of Australia.Results:The number of psychiatry consultations (telehealth and face-to-face) rose during the first wave of the pandemic in Quarter 3, 2020, by 14% compared to Quarter 3, 2019, with telehealth 43% of this total. Face-to-face consultations in Quarter 3, 2020 were only 64% of the comparative number of Quarter 3, 2019 consultations. Most telehealth involved short telephone consultations of ⩽15–30 min. Video consultations comprised 42% of total telehealth provision: these were for new patient assessments and longer consultations. These figures represent increased face-to-face consultation compared to Quarter 2, 2020, with substantial maintenance of telehealth consultations.Conclusions:Private psychiatrists continued using the new COVID-19 MBS telehealth items for Quarter 3, 2020 to increase the number of patient care contacts in the context of decreased face-to-face consultations compared to 2019, but increased face-to-face consultations compared to Quarter 2, 2020.
Highlights
For Quarter 3, 2020, the total combined use of telehealth and face-to-face consultations increased by 14% compared to the equivalent pre-COVID-19 period in 2019 (Table 1 and Figure 1)
Telephone telehealth was predominantly used for shorter consultations (⩽15– 30 min) with correspondingly greater video telehealth usage in longer consultations (⩾30–75 min) (Figure 2)
Psychiatrist Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) telehealth services have formed an important part of mental healthcare during Quarter 3, 2020
Summary
For Quarter 3, 2020, the total combined use of telehealth and face-to-face consultations increased by 14% compared to the equivalent pre-COVID-19 period in 2019 (Table 1 and Figure 1). Telehealth new patient assessment and 12-month treatment plans (291 equivalents) were 34% of 2019 face-to-face consultations, with video telehealth used in 51% of telehealth consultations representing an increased usage of video telehealth, compared to Quarter 2, 2020.3. Telehealth new patient assessment items without the requirement for a 12-month treatment plan (296 equivalents) were 22% of 2019 face-to-face consultations, with video telehealth used in 77% of these consultations. The combined total of (telehealth and face-to-face) standard office-based consultations for Quarter 3, 2020 equalled/exceeded Quarter 3, 2019 consultations, from the lowest of 93% for >75 min [308] to 110%–215% for items 300–306. In comparison to Quarter 2, 2020 data, Quarter 3 results show a relative increase in face-to-face consultation, while there is maintenance of telephone telehealth for short consultations and increasing use of video telehealth for longer consultations
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