Publisher's Synopsis
The COVID-19 pandemic brought about restrictions on in-person care delivery and led to a marked increase in the use of telehealth. When the pandemic began, the Military Health System (MHS) was already exploring options to expand its use of telehealth, including for service members with behavioral health conditions. To inform this effort and to provide insights into the pandemic's impact, RAND researchers examined changes in behavioral health care delivered to service members with PTSD, depression, or substance use disorder by the MHS following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, including patterns of care, use of telehealth, and quality of care. Although the number of behavioral health visits in the MHS declined overall following the onset of the pandemic in 2020 compared with an equivalent period in 2019, the use of telehealth increased markedly, and service members who received care had more visits with providers. In addition, the qua
