Rapid Response Brief - Telehealth Among Behavioral Health Providers in Louisiana During Covid-19: a Story of Adoption and Adaptation

Authors

Stephen Phillippi, LSU Health Sciences Center- New OrleansFollow
Sonita Singh, LSU Health Sciences Center- New Orleans
Brian Bumbarger, Science, Systems and Communities Consulting
Kaylin Beiter, LSU Health Sciences Center- New Orleans
Lindsay Simpson, LSU Health Sciences Center- New Orleans
Ashley Fenton, LSU Health Sciences Center- New OrleansFollow

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic, the Louisiana Governor’s “Stay at Home” order, and subsequent social distancing precautions, necessitated an unprecedented shift to telehealth to access behavioral health services in Louisiana. Methods: Data were collected through a survey sent to 1,554 providers, with 307 (20%) responding, to learn how providers had managed the shift to telehealth. Results: The majority (85%) of providers surveyed reported continuing to see clients via telehealth. Barriers to providing care via telehealth were reported as, “clients’ access to devices, data and internet”, “the client’s knowledge of technology”, and the ability to access clients, specifically “hard to reach populations”. Conclusions: Access to quality behavioral health services via telehealth, including during disasters, can, and should, be part of a planned response. The potential of telehealth to increase or decrease disparities in access to quality care requires the state to monitor use, and for policymakers to consider low/no cost broadband access for providers and clients.

Recommended Citation

Phillippi, Stephen; Singh, Sonita; Bumbarger, Brian; Beiter, Kaylin; Simpson, Lindsay; and Fenton, Ashley (2020) "Rapid Response Brief - Telehealth Among Behavioral Health Providers in Louisiana During Covid-19: a Story of Adoption and Adaptation," Journal of the Louisiana Public Health Association: Vol. 1: No. 1, Article 47.
Available at: https://digitalscholar.lsuhsc.edu/jlpha/vol1/iss1/47