Providing Behavioral Health Care in a Post-Pandemic World

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the healthcare landscape has faced a permanent change born from general uncertainty, anxiety, and barriers to patient care access. This new and perpetually evolving climate has particularly affected behavioral health care.

A recent report from The American Hospital Association found that in-person, outpatient behavioral health visits have declined heavily throughout the pandemic—decreasing by as much as 75 percent for consumers with commercial insurance and leading to heightened reporting of adverse behavioral health conditions.

However, restrictions on telehealth—including HIPAA requirements for video conferencing—have loosened, and the challenge of patient access to behavioral health care has become an opportunity.

Telehealth Offers Expanded Access to Providers

Virtual care is a key driver in removing the physical barrier between patients and behavioral health providers, helping patients receive the care and expertise they need without in-person contact. The right telehealth provider can help facilitate better mental and behavioral health outcomes for patients by:

  • Minimizing care deferrals
  • Delivering more efficient, convenient care
  • Growing one’s medical practice and increasing revenue stream by attracting new patients
  • Providing better continuity of care for high-risk patient populations
  • Decreasing readmissions by addressing gaps in care
  • Building loyalty and trust among patients, family caregivers, and communities

Using Synzi, providers can conduct virtual visits with patients who prefer more convenient care delivery or remain anxious about in-person visits. These virtual visits allow multiple participants to be involved—including colleagues, specialists, home health clinicians, medical interpreters, and family caregivers—offering patients bidirectional communication to quickly access their providers for on-demand counseling.

Providers using Synzi can also send patients a cadence of scheduled communications via text or email, customized to the patient’s condition, medication regimen, recommended coping strategies, and language preference. Implementing more frequent touchpoints improves patient satisfaction and behavioral health outcomes, while evolving the delivery of higher quality, more timely care.

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