Changes to Depression-Related Health Care Encounters and Telehealth Adoption in the COVID-19 Era.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to explore changes in the incidence of depression-related health care encounters following the COVID-19 pandemic among patients diagnosed with depressive disorders and characterized those who had transitioned their care largely to telehealth.

METHODS

This retrospective study included adults diagnosed with depressive disorders in the 2018-2021 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). We assessed encounter rates and telehealth use in depression-related care. Encounter rates were compared through zero-truncated negative-binomial models. Weighted logistic regression models were used to explore factors associated with the transition of depression-related care to telehealth.

RESULTS

We found a statistically significant increase in depression-related encounters following the COVID-19 pandemic (incident rate ratios: 1.42, 95% confidence interval: 1.20-1.68). Logistic regression results showed no statistically significant differences in telehealth transitions among the included sociodemographic variables.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with depressive disorders had significant increase in depression-related encounters. The odds of transitioning to telehealth for depression-related care were not statistically different among common sociodemographic groups.