Can Telemental Health Help Achieve Equity During the COVID-19 Pandemic?
By Abdou Simon Senghor and Eric Racine
With the advent of COVID-19, patients with mental health disorders no longer have access to regular health services because of social distancing measures. Additionally, patients directly affected by COVID-19 are given priority in terms of health service access, even though individuals unaffected by the virus directly are still in need of medical help.1
This raises issues of equity involved in healthcare access, particularly in light of the on-going challenges that patients with mental health disorders experience, challenges manifested prior to the onset of COVID-19. From an encompassing mental health perspective, ensuring that the health of different populations is equivalently and fairly cared for necessitates that there be a parity of access to resources for all individuals, for both physical and mental health services, alongside equal priority of mental health and other medical services for those in need.2 To meet challenges related to acces…
With the advent of COVID-19, patients with mental health disorders no longer have access to regular health services because of social distancing measures. Additionally, patients directly affected by COVID-19 are given priority in terms of health service access, even though individuals unaffected by the virus directly are still in need of medical help.1
This raises issues of equity involved in healthcare access, particularly in light of the on-going challenges that patients with mental health disorders experience, challenges manifested prior to the onset of COVID-19. From an encompassing mental health perspective, ensuring that the health of different populations is equivalently and fairly cared for necessitates that there be a parity of access to resources for all individuals, for both physical and mental health services, alongside equal priority of mental health and other medical services for those in need.2 To meet challenges related to acces…
