Tara De Boer
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TORONTO (CTV Network) — It’s well known that the pandemic has worsened the mental health of Canadians across the country, but a recent study found that access to virtual care options and services has increased among the wealthy. area.
A poll conducted by the Canadian Mental Health Association in July 2020 found that 1 in 10 Canadians expect their mental health to suffer as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The data show it has gotten worse.
But the pandemic has also impacted mental health service delivery, as in-person appointments were put on hold indefinitely and virtual appointments were offered instead, according to a recent report.
And a recent report from the Canadian Institute of Health Information found that virtual delivery of mental health services was more accessible to Canadians living in high-income areas.
Wealthier neighborhoods have more access New data on virtual mental health care from the Institute, published in December, show that while there has been an overall increase in mental health services across Canada, access to virtual services has Varies by population.
This report examined trends in virtual mental health services in five Canadian provinces: Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia from April 2019 to March 2021.
A visit with a family doctor, pediatrician, or psychiatrist was the form of mental health service classified in the report if the diagnosis on the bill was anxiety or depression.
Providing virtual care is a medium for improving patient accessibility, but this report shows that accessibility is still being granted to some patients more than others during the pandemic.
Despite the use of virtual mental health care by patients of all income levels, virtual care was more accessible to people in higher-income, urban neighborhoods.
And while more services became available through family physicians, pediatricians, and psychiatrists, the report found that between January and March 2021, 22% and 39%, respectively, compared to the previous year. %, indicating an increase of 16%. Based on patient income levels, there was a larger income gap than other forms of virtual physician care.
Differences in utilization ranged from 7% to 14% for low-income and high-income mental health services, respectively, and small differences of 3% to 5% per range were found for all other services.
A report released by Statistics Canada last July found that low incomes are being impacted by factors such as increased stress and lack of access to basic needs such as food, housing, opportunities and mental health care. It is also associated with poorer mental health outcomes.
Patient geographic location was also identified as a factor in high utilization of virtual health services. Patients living in urban areas are reported to be using more virtual mental health services.
According to the report, 53% of care was provided to patients living in urban areas, compared to 47% in rural and remote areas.
As to the reasons for this disparity, a September Ontario COVID-19 Scientific Advisory Table report outlined that low-income people face challenges such as lack of housing, privacy, digital literacy support and high-speed internet. doing.
The advisory table states that these barriers may hinder virtual mental health services. Lack of culturally relevant mental health services also hinders access to care, it explains.
Increase in Services Caused by Pandemic Access to virtual mental health care was found to be unfair based on income level, but overall increased service needs during the pandemic made Canadians uneasy The number of services offered to diagnose depression has also increased.
In fact, between January and March 2021, mental health services provided by doctors increased by 15%, reaching 502,007 services, and physicians’ payments for mental health services increased by 16%. It has been.
Virtual services accounted for 57% of physician-provided mental health services in 2020-2021, up from just 4% in 2019-2020.
Physician payments for virtual mental health services also increased significantly, from $29 million in 2019-2020 to $621 million in 2020-2021.
The report states that in the future, more research on the adequacy of virtual care in relation to patient health outcomes will help decision makers in the health care sector on how to best integrate virtual mental health care services into existing health care. said to help guide system.
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