Virtual behavioral health care (provided over video or phone) has been around for quite a while. It’s widespread and it’s convenient, but there are myths out there about remote approaches to supporting and improving patients’ behavioral health. Fortunately, the remote vs. in-person questions has been the subject of multiple studies for many years. So, we’ve pulled together some of the most relevant research to knock down five of the most common myths about delivering virtual behavioral health care…
MYTH: Virtual care sacrifices quality for convenience
Actually … a meta-analysis of dozens of studies conducted over decades on behavioral health services delivered virtually delivered results on par with traditional in-person therapy. Outcomes for patients dealing with depression, anxiety or PTSD were nearly identical, suggesting that remote approaches to behavioral health care have been effectively treating patients for years.
MYTH: Engagement isn’t as high
Actually … engagement can be higher with virtual care. And this shouldn’t come as a surprise—many patients live in remote areas, or have mobility challenges, or have uneven access to transportation. So, virtual behavioral health provides more options for conveniently engaging patients on a regular basis. And, as we say, the most effective intervention is usually the one that patients engage with.
MYTH: It lacks the human connection
Actually … that assumption tends to be more perception than the reality. And it also doesn’t factor in the importance of high quality execution as a differentiator. When clinicians provide behavioral health care virtually, they should be trained in things like body language, time management, using remote technologies, and so on, as different from an in-person setting. This helps ensure they’re replicating the best bits of the in-person experience remotely.
MYTH: Patients don’t like it as much
Actually … when surveys ask patients about their care experiences, they find that virtual behavioral health care is comparable to in-person care when it comes to patient satisfaction as well as attrition. Every patient is different and preferences are individualized, but at a population level, virtual care routinely gets high marks.
MYTH: All virtual behavioral health is the same
Actually … it’s not. We know lots of virtual behavioral health solutions fall short either because they don’t deliver both quality and scale, and they’re not integrated with the patient’s medical health. But we’ve been saying for years that a thoughtful implementation of the Collaborative Care approach is the best of both worlds. Collaborative Care was developed to be high-touch and to deliver care either in-person or virtually. And, crucially, it was created to be integrated with medical care so that it could treat the whole person.
The bottom line is that remote behavioral health care has been studied for decades and when compared to in-person approaches, virtual performs as well or better on engagement, satisfaction, attrition, and outcomes. And when that care is integrated with patients’ medical journey, efficacy and program success only grows.