A 3,800% Increase in Behavioral Health Telehealth Since 2020
Behavioral health telehealth utilization increased approximately 3,800% between 2019 and 2021, and has remained elevated as patient preference for remote mental health services persists. This shift has expanded access for many patients — but has also introduced new compliance and documentation challenges around PHQ-9 and GAD-7 administration, follow-up tracking, and HEDIS measure compliance.
The patients most affected by the post-COVID mental health surge are concentrated in the 25–45 age band (42% of new behavioral health diagnoses), with anxiety disorders overtaking depression as the most common presenting condition in primary care settings. Vizier tracks this demographic breakdown at the practice level, enabling targeted program development for the patient populations most in need.
Substance Use Disorder (SUD) diagnosis rates have also climbed significantly since 2020, with opioid and alcohol use disorders seeing the largest volume increases. Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT/MOUD) retention rates — the primary quality metric for SUD programs — are tracked at the provider and program level.
PHQ-9 Severity Banding with Required Clinical Response
Vizier tracks PHQ-9 score distribution across your entire patient panel, trend over time for individual patients, and flags patients whose scores have increased by 5+ points since their last assessment — triggering a care team alert without waiting for the next scheduled visit.
Mild Depression
Watchful waiting; repeat PHQ-9 in 1 month. Document counseling provided.
Moderate Depression
Treatment plan required: psychotherapy referral and/or medication initiation. Follow-up within 4–6 weeks.
Moderately Severe Depression
Active treatment with medication. Psychiatric consultation if not improving within 6–8 weeks.
Severe Depression
Immediate psychiatric evaluation. Consider inpatient referral if safety concerns present.
Follow-Up After Hospitalization: 7-Day and 30-Day Windows
The HEDIS Follow-Up After Hospitalization for Mental Illness (FUH) measure requires that patients discharged from an inpatient psychiatric stay receive a follow-up visit within 7 days and again within 30 days. Both windows are tracked separately — the 7-day rate and the 30-day rate appear as distinct quality scores in your HEDIS report.
FUH compliance is one of the most difficult behavioral health HEDIS measures to achieve because it requires coordination across the inpatient facility, the outpatient follow-up provider, and the care management team — often with incomplete discharge notification from the hospital.
Vizier monitors your ADT (Admit, Discharge, Transfer) feed for psychiatric discharges and immediately alerts the outpatient care team, tracks follow-up appointment scheduling, and reports your FUH compliance rate in real time — with patient-level detail showing which discharged patients have not yet been seen.
Track Mental Health Outcomes Across Your Entire Patient Panel
PHQ-9 and GAD-7 score trends, HEDIS FUH compliance, SUD program retention rates, and post-discharge follow-up tracking — built for behavioral health programs managing post-COVID patient volumes.