Medicare-reimbursed youth telepsychiatry in Australia during and after the COVID-19 pandemic: a descriptive analysis

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the role of telehealth in youth psychiatry during and after the pandemic in Australia. Methods: We analysed Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) item number data for psychiatry services provided to patients aged 0–24 years, from 2017 to 2022. We analysed total services (in-person and telehealth) from 2017 to 2022, determining provision before and during the pandemic. We also analysed changes to use of each modality during the pandemic. Finally, we calculated the use of each modality in 2022, when COVID-19 restrictions had eased. Results: Youth psychiatry service provision steadily increased prior to the pandemic (2017–2019). Larger increases were seen during the pandemic, with 15.3% increase between 2019 and 2020, and 9.7% increase between 2020 and 2021. After the introduction of telepsychiatry MBS item numbers, in-person services decreased from 71.3% to 63% between 2020 and 2022. Video-telepsychiatry increased from 15.7% to 26.4% between 2020 and 2022, and telephone-telepsychiatry decreased from 13% to 10.6%. In 2022, most consultations were in-person, but video-telepsychiatry was higher than ever despite fewer COVID-19 restrictions. Conclusions: Telepsychiatry was well-received by young people during the pandemic and should remain an option to improve access to youth psychiatry in post-pandemic times.