Fe at u re
A New Age of Tools of the Trade
healing hearts and minds from a distance Text by Emily K. Alberts
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The covid-19 pandemic changed our daily habits tremendously, and some of those habits are sticking around long after lockdowns have lifted. One such transformation is the public’s utilization of telehealth. As medical providers scrambled to find ways to safely administer healthcare during the pandemic, telehealth utilization for office visits and outpatient care grew nearly a hundred times higher than it was previously. Consumer willingness to use this technology increased, and regulatory changes were made to enable greater access and reimbursement.
“Insurance companies relaxed the rules of what constitutes a session so we could provide telehealth therapy.
Regulations require that all sessions be conducted with a video,” explains Nathan Cooke, a licensed clinical social worker based in the New River Valley. Though the term “telehealth” encompasses all aspects of healthcare, the highest increase in usage was in the field of psychiatry (50% increase) as well as substance use treatment (30% increase). 14
NRV MAGAZINE
Cooke has been helping adults, children, families, couples and others with mental health difficulties for more than 20 years and was able to adjust his services to meet the new challenges presented by the covid-19 outbreak. “I converted my tool shed into a telehealth studio office. It is set up to provide services via a professional webcam, lights and microphone. It is 100% HIPAA compliant,” adds Cooke. Ah, the new age tools of the trade! Jul y/Aug
2022
