U.S. Youth Mental Health Outpatient Visits & Medication Management Visits Doubled In The Decade Prior To COVID-19

Youth outpatient mental health visits in the United States increased in the decade prior to COVID-19. Between 2006 and 2019, youth and young adults had 1.1 billion outpatient visits, of which 13.1% (145.0 million visits) were associated with a mental health condition. The proportion of mental health-related outpatient visits nearly doubled from 8.9% in 2006 to 16.9% in 2019. About 17.2% of outpatient visits were associated with the prescription of at least one psychotropic medication, with significant increases from 12.8% in 2006 to 22.4% by 2019.

Increases . . .