The delivery of healthcare services has been transformed as a result of Covid-19 according to a US study released by Cigna.
In one of the first Covid-19 health insurance claims analyses, the insurer explores how the impact of the pandemic altered the course of healthcare delivery for its customers during 2020.
It says the “massive acceptance and adoption of virtual care” has reshaped the delivery of medical and behavioural healthcare.
The report shows that before the pandemic started in 2019 virtual visits in North America made up just over 1% of all professional consultations. Today, they make up nearly 25%.
“There was also a sharp increase in the use of outpatient behavioural health services, which rose by 27% compared to pre-pandemic levels,” says the report.
“In fact, the growth of virtual health has put behavioural care in particular within reach of more people, with over 60% of behavioural health customers conducting virtual sessions.
“This increased use of virtual behavioural health actually remained constant through the end of 2020, even while the use of virtual care for other services decreased.”
Tellingly, the report notes an increase in the use of medications to treat depression and anxiety – up by 7.9% in 2020 when compared to 2019. Nearly one-third (32.1%) of Americans taking antidepressants in 2020 had no history of use in the six months prior.