National Council for Behavioral Health & Qualifacts Release Study Findings on Behavioral Health Providers’ Shift to Virtual Care
More than 1,000 providers responded to a survey exploring the business impact of shelter-at-home orders, the rollout of virtual care solutions, the availability of technology and providers' thoughts on future challenges and opportunities
The National Council for Behavioral Health and Qualifacts, a leading EHR platform for behavioral health and human service organizations, have released the results of their national survey of behavioral health care providers to gauge the role virtual care has had on their businesses during COVID-19.
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More than 1,000 providers in the areas of behavioral health, substance abuse, and intellectual and developmental disabilities completed the survey and offered deep insights into the following areas of interest: How were they handling a remote workforce? How were their operations and revenues affected? And what technology solutions were they putting into place?
The results, unsurprisingly, showed rapid and significant structural changes in order to continue effective, efficient care to the communities served:
- 80% said they were delivering care virtually at least 60% of the time now
- 70% said at least 40% of their care will be virtual going forward
- 64% have experienced revenue losses — yet also report decreased no-show rates
- 20% said they’d need a new EHR in order to support new virtual programming
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“Telehealth has always eliminated barriers to access,” said Chuck Ingoglia, President and CEO of National Council for Behavioral Health. “With the pandemic erecting substantial new barriers to in-person care, patients and providers embraced telehealth in historic numbers. Virtual care represents the safest, most efficient means to provide behavioral health treatment and services during the pandemic. This timely survey clearly demonstrates that virtual care is here to stay and will remain a viable option for treatment long after the pandemic.”
“The full short- and long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are not yet known,” added David Klements, Qualifacts’ President and CEO. “But these insights and data-driven priorities allow Qualifacts and the National Council to respond quickly on everything from adaptable, flexible technology solutions to promoting legislative changes to make sure that virtual care remains an effective and important part of their overall services portfolio.”
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