Ontario is in a mental health crisis. Yet, patient access to OHIP\u002Dfunded physician\u002Dpsychotherapy is being significantly restricted by a hastily made pandemic…
This is happening at a time when publicly funded psychotherapy is needed more than ever. There has been a stark increase in the levels of psychological distress in our community, driven by the stress of the pandemic. These people are our friends, family members, front-line workers and, perhaps, ourselves.For over a decade, the Ontario government has used the OTN program to provide patients with access to virtual care.
Why? When GP-psychotherapists use non-OTN platforms, they are obliged to bill OHIP with a new pandemic code, known as K082, which does not count toward their GP-psychotherapist designation. As a result, a large number of these doctors may lose their titles. If that happens, family physicians will have fewer doctors to refer patients — and face financial penalty for referrals to doctors who no longer hold their designation.
Most troubling is that these issues are unfolding during the pandemic, with its lockdowns and economic pain. Demand for so-called disaster psychotherapy has skyrocketed — just as it did after the Spanish Flu, when demand for mental health support increased sevenfold.
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