Telehealth isn’t going away. But it isn’t taking over, either.

The question for health plan and provider organization executives is no longer whether to offer virtual care. The question is what delivery model will define the next decade—and how much infrastructure to build around each modality.

A recent study of behavioral health treatment patterns among U.S. service members offers some clarity (see Telebehavioral Health, In-Person, And Hybrid Modalities Of Treatment Delivery Among US Service Members: Longitudinal Observational Study). Among individuals receiving care for 12 behavioral health conditions, 60% received in-person care only, 4% received telehealth only, and 36% received hybrid care.

Hybrid (not virtual-only) is the growth story.

And the utilization patterns are telling. Consumers receiving hybrid care had three times as many visits…