Healthcare use in commercially insured youth with mental health disorders

Background The objective of this study is to describe age-related patterns of outpatient healthcare utilization in youth and young adults with mental health disorders. Method We used the IBM ® MarketScan ® Commercial Database to identify 359,413 youth and young adults (12–27 years) with a mental health disorder continuously enrolled in private health insurance in 2018. Exploratory analysis was used to describe patterns of outpatient healthcare use (e.g., primary, reproductive, mental health care) and therapeutic management (e.g., medication prescriptions, psychotherapy) by age. Period prevalence and median number of visits are reported. Additional analysis explored utilization patterns by mental health disorder. Results The prevalence of outpatient mental health care and primary care decreased with age, with a larger drop in primary care utilization. While 74.0-78.4% of those aged 12–17 years used both outpatient mental health care and primary care, 53.1–59.7% of those aged 18–27 years did. Most 18–19-year-olds had a visit with an internal medicine or family medicine specialist, a minority had a pediatrician visit. The prevalence of medication management increased with age, while the prevalence of psychotherapy decreased. Conclusions Taken together, this descriptive study illustrates age-related differences in outpatient healthcare utilization among those with mental health disorders. Additionally, those with the most severe mental health disorders seem to be least connected to outpatient care. This knowledge can inform efforts to improve utilization of healthcare across the transition to adulthood.