Survey: Americans Want Mental Healthcare via Telehealth, but Security of Data Worries Patients
06 Octobre 2020 - 3:00PM
Business Wire
CynergisTek survey highlights teletherapy
becoming a mainstay in healthcare, but security vulnerabilities
worry patients
Amid rising mental health struggles for many during the COVID-19
pandemic, a survey from leading healthcare cybersecurity firm
CynergisTek reveals that nearly a majority of Americans (46
percent) would embrace telehealth widely for mental health and
therapy sessions, but worry most about their behavioral health data
being exposed by hackers.
“What’s surprising here is how open Americans are to mental
healthcare via telemedicine, highlighting how providers should
double down on offering wider access to mental healthcare through
virtual visits,” said Caleb Barlow, president and CEO of
CynergisTek. “This not only opens up new, flexible options for
patients -- who can see their providers within the comfort of their
own homes -- but it also enables providers to create greater
efficiencies, streamline patient queues and expand their reach to
new patients.”
Nearly Half of Americans Willing to Try Mental Telehealth;
Millennials, GenX and Women Far More Receptive to
Teletherapy
Attitudes towards telehealth, especially in mental healthcare,
have shifted dramatically as Americans increasingly seek out
virtual visits with seeing behavioral health professionals. When
considering telehealth use for non-urgent care, Americans would
most likely consider using it for mental health sessions (46
percent), followed by chronic care check-ups (29 percent) and
annual physical and children’s wellness exams (27 percent). When
drilling down into other key groups, it was found that:
- Millennials, GenX and females are more receptive than other
Americans to using telehealth solutions for a mental health session
(54 percent, 50 percent and 52 percent respectively)
- Boomers and men were found to be less enthusiastic about using
teletherapy: only 34 percent of Boomers and 40 percent of men
reported they’d consider using telehealth for mental healthcare
counseling.
Only 22 percent of respondents would consider delaying mental
health appointments vs. the nearly 40 percent would delay annual
exams and more than 40 percent of respondents would consider
delaying eye exams, dentists appointments and cosmetic procedures
amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Access to mental healthcare is essential, especially during
these times, as individuals of all ages are experiencing increased
social isolation, anxiety and depression related to COVID-19.
However, it’s mandatory that providers balance technology use with
security measures to protect data,” said Barlow.
Telehealth tools have always been around, but lack of
reimbursement stymied progress and limited incentive to use these
solutions for critically resource-challenged areas like mental
health. With COVID-19 spurring regulators to authorize
reimbursements for virtual visits, mental health professionals are
scrambling to keep up with the demand.
Studies have found that switching to telemental health doesn’t
come at the cost of efficacy. Expanding use of mental health
services through telehealth can be a boon for rural, underserved
communities and can close healthcare inequity gaps among lower
socio-economic communities who may not have access to
transportation or can’t take time off work to see a mental health
professional.
Nearly 1 in 2 Americans Very Concerned About Privacy and
Breached Mental Health Data
The survey also found that although the vast majority of
Americans are receptive to using telehealth for mental healthcare
needs, patients could be easily scared off should their sensitive
behavioral health data be breached. Respondents indicated they are
most concerned about their mental health data being exposed in a
data breach than any other type of data (44 percent).
- Although Millennials and GenX are open to using telehealth
solutions for mental health sessions, they are also extremely
concerned with their mental health data being exposed in a breach
(50 percent and 48 percent). Surprisingly, Boomers were found to be
more ambivalent about their privacy and mental health data being
breached, with only 32 percent expressing concerns.
- 34 percent of Americans are also worried about their sexual
health data being exposed in a potential breach, a number which
increases significantly among Gen Z (42 percent) and Millennial (40
percent) respondents.
As telehealth surges in use, hackers haven’t been on the
sidelines waiting for the pandemic subside. A recent report found
the number of attacks on telehealth vendors has increased by 117
percent, highlighting how cyber adversaries are looking to new
modes of entry to exploit emerging vulnerabilities with the
expanded use of technology.
“It’s exciting to see such change taking place so rapidly which
benefits both patients and providers, especially on mental
healthcare which is out of reach for so many,” said David Finn,
executive vice president of strategic innovation of CynergisTek.
“However, nonmedical technology platforms like Zoom won’t cut it
when protecting the privacy of patients. Providers must invest in
secure platforms that ensure sensitive health data isn’t hijacked,
creating distrust in telehealth and the system overall.”
“Telemental health is here to stay. We’ve heard feedback from
many patients who try at-home services for the first time and say
things like ‘You mean, I could have been accessing my sessions this
way all along?'," said Jim Varrell, Chief Medical Officer of
InSight + Regroup, a national telepsychiatry provider organization.
“Making the patient and clinician experience with telemental health
as secure as possible is essential as the patient-clinician
relationship must be safe and private.”
Survey Methodology
CynergisTek’s survey was conducted between June 24-26 2020, and
includes 5,005 U.S. adults, ages 18+.
About CynergisTek
CynergisTek is a top-ranked cybersecurity firm dedicated to
serving the information assurance needs of the healthcare industry.
CynergisTek offers specialized services and solutions to help
organizations achieve privacy, security, and compliance goals.
Since 2004, the company has served as a partner to hundreds of
healthcare organizations and is dedicated to supporting and
educating the industry by contributing to relevant industry
associations. The company has been recognized by KLAS as a
top-performing firm in healthcare cybersecurity and was awarded the
2019 Top Healthcare Cybersecurity Consultants in Black Book IT
Advisory Outcomes Survey.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains certain forward-looking statements
relating to the business of CynergisTek that can be identified by
the use of forward-looking terminology such as “believes,”
“expects,” “anticipates,” “may” or similar expressions. Such
forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and
uncertainties, including uncertainties relating to product/service
development, long and uncertain sales cycles, the ability to obtain
or maintain patent or other proprietary intellectual property
protection, market acceptance, future capital requirements,
competition from other providers, the ability of our vendors to
continue supplying the company with equipment, parts, supplies and
services at comparable terms and prices and other factors that may
cause actual results to be materially different from those
described herein as anticipated, believed, estimated or expected.
Certain of these risks and uncertainties are or will be described
in greater detail in our Form 10-K and Form 10-Q filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available at
http://www.sec.gov. CynergisTek is under no obligation (and
expressly disclaims any such obligation) to update or alter its
forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise.
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Investor Relations Contact: CynergisTek, Inc. Paul
Anthony InvestorRelations@cynergistek.com Media Contact:
Allison + Partners Jaime Tero 415-755-8639
jaime.tero@allisonpr.com
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