BL Premium reports that Discovery Health has sounded the alarm over a looming mental health crisis in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The medical scheme administrator has seen a marked increase in claims for psychology visits.

Psychology visits per 1,000 lives in July 2021 were 16.2% higher than the corresponding period in 2019, at 28.4 visits per 1,000 lives in 2021 compared with 24.4 in 2019. Discovery Health’s clinical policy unit head, Noluthando Nematswerani, indicated: “Mental health is another pandemic. What we are seeing is the tip of the iceberg. I think we are still going to see a significant mental health impact in future claims. What we are seeing right now is people who may not have an established mental health illness, but are presenting with stress-related disorders, which may progress to more serious conditions.” The prevalence of anxiety disorders rose by more than 36%, while depression soared 38%, according to the estimates for SA in a Lancet study published on 8 October. Countries hit hardest by the pandemic in 2020 had the greatest increases in these mental illnesses, with SA among the worst affected. Jasmin Kooverjee, principal psychologist at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, said there had been a marked increase in anxiety and depression among children and adolescents, and a surge in burnout among healthcare workers.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tamar Kahn at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)

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