In-Depth: Telehealth providers working with colleges to supplement students' behavioral health, physical care

Fall has arrived, and with it comes the annual migration of millions of young adults leaving their homes for the promises of higher learning. For a substantial portion of these students, the trek means a transition from their family’s usual healthcare provider to their campus’s health services or other nearby sources for care — a gap that telehealth vendors are eager to fill.

“These students are often far away from home,” Robbie Cape, CEO and co-founder of texting-based primary care startup 98point6, told MobiHealthNews. “As a demographic, [they] have the lowest percentage affiliation with a primary care physician. Over 55% of college students, Gen Z, have a PCP, so that means over 45% do not. They do not have a relationship with a PCP at all, which makes 98point6 a great option for them. Not only that, but … 1.7 million university students don’t have any access to healthcare coverage, which again makes our offer very, very compelling for them.”

What's more, with the rate of college enrollment ticking upward with each passing year, several universities and student groups will likely need a scalable solution to fit their healthcare needs, said Alon Matas, founder and president of BetterHelp, a Teladoc subsidiary that provides behavioral health and counseling services.

“I think there’s actually a crisis in the student population,” Matas told MobiHealthNews. “The schools have gotten bigger, more students, but the capacity of the counseling centers and health centers hasn’t changed. We hear all the time about campuses with 10,000 students and one counselor. They cannot handle that much, so there have to be solutions like telehealth that come in, otherwise this will escalate."

The full Mobi Health News article can be viewed at this link.