Observational studyGeneral hospital psychiatry
Disparities in outpatient visits for mental health and/or substance use disorders during the COVID surge and partial reopening in Massachusetts.
Observational study in General hospital psychiatry. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 60 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
60 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 96 citations in OpenAlex.
- Access and use of general and mental health services before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ open · 2025Pooled it
- The Acute Impact of the Early Stages of COVID-19 Pandemic in People with Pre-Existing Psychiatric Disorders: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- The early impact of COVID-19 on the incidence, prevalence, and severity of alcohol use and other drugs: A systematic review.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2021Pooled it
- A novel prolonged exposure therapy protocol for improving therapy session attendance and PTSD symptoms among adults receiving buprenorphine or methadone treatment.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2025Trial
- Use of Video Directly Observed Therapy and Characteristics Associated With Use Among Patients Treated With Buprenorphine in an Office-based Setting.Journal of addiction medicineTrial
- Using Routinely Collected Data From the Network of Alcohol and Other Drugs Agencies Database to Evaluate the Impact of COVID-19 Lockdowns on Trends in Service Delivery in Outpatient Non-Government Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Services.Alcohol, clinical & experimental research · 2026Observational
- A longitudinal analysis of overall and telehealth addiction treatment utilization three years after pandemic-related policy changes.Journal of substance use and addiction treatment · 2026Article
- Demographic and socioeconomic factors influencing the adoption of telehealth services for substance use treatment.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Adult Digital Mental Health Tool Use From 2019-2022: Findings from the California Health Interview Survey.The Psychiatric quarterly · 2025Article
- Referral of patients from rural primary care clinics to telemedicine vendors for opioid use disorder treatment: A mixed-methods study.Journal of telemedicine and telecare · 2025Article
- The impact of increased telehealth use on the treatment of substance use disorder during the COVID-19 pandemic.SSM - population health · 2025Article
- Telehealth Disparities in Outpatient Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Treatment among Medicaid Beneficiaries during COVID-19.Substance use & misuse · 2025Article
- Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Psychiatric Service Use Among Psychiatric Outpatients.Turk psikiyatri dergisi = Turkish journal of psychiatry · 2025Article
- Psychosocial Outcomes Associated with Mobile Health App Use among Medicaid Recipients who Use Substances.Journal of social work practice in the addictions · 2025Article
- Trends in Use of Telemedicine for Stimulant Initiation Among Children and Adults.Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.) · 2024Article
- Tele-Mental Health Service: Unveiling the Disparity and Impact on Healthcare Access and Expenditures during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Mississippi.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- PrEP facilitators and barriers in substance use bridge clinics for women who engage in sex work and who use drugs.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2024Article
- Patterns & Predictors of Telehealth Utilization Among Individuals Who Use Substances: Implications for the Future of Virtual Behavioral Health Services.Community mental health journal · 2024Article
- Article
- Telehealth Initiation of Buprenorphine for Opioid Use Disorder: Patient Characteristics and Outcomes.Journal of general internal medicine · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo examine changes in outpatient visits for mental health and/or substance use disorders (MH/SUD) in an integrated healthcare organization during the initial Massachusetts COVID-19 surge and partial state reopening.
methodsObservational study of outpatient MH/SUD visits January 1st-June 30th, 2018-2020 by: 1) visit diagnosis group, 2) provider type, 3) patient race/ethnicity, 4) insurance, and 5) visit method (telemedicine vs. in-person).
resultsEach year, January-June 52,907-73,184 patients were seen for a MH/SUD visit. While non-MH/SUD visits declined during the surge relative to 2020 pre-pandemic (-38.2%), MH/SUD visits increased (9.1%)-concentrated in primary care (35.3%) and non-Hispanic Whites (10.5%). During the surge, MH visit volume increased 11.7% while SUD decreased 12.7%. During partial reopening, while MH visits returned to 2020 pre-pandemic levels, SUD visits declined 31.1%; MH/SUD visits decreased by Hispanics (-33.0%) and non-Hispanic Blacks (-24.6%), and among Medicaid (-19.4%) and Medicare enrollees (-20.9%). Telemedicine accounted for ~5% of MH/SUD visits pre-pandemic and 83.3%-83.5% since the surge.
conclusionsMH/SUD visit volume increased during the COVID surge and was supported by rapidly-scaled telemedicine. Despite this, widening diagnostic and racial/ethnic disparities in MH/SUD visit volume during the surge and reopening suggest additional barriers for these vulnerable populations, and warrant continued monitoring and research.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.