If you could redesign telehealth specifically for midlife women, what would you add or remove to make it truly supportive of your health needs right now?
Remove the layers of people and insurance road blocks between a patient and the doctor(s) they need to see! Two years ago I desperately needed a therapist and a psychiatrist. But to get one within the established system, I'd have to 1. get an appointment with my primary care to request referrals 2. wait for the appointment 3. make it to the appointment 4. wait for the referral department to process my referals 5. wait for the specialist's office to call me 6. call them back to make an appointment (because I definitely missed their call) 7. wait for the appointment 8. make it to the appointment. It would have taken months to get through that process because our rural area is short on health care staff (so there are weeks and weeks until the next available appointment, and the referral department has/d a backlog). I couldn't wait that long, and didn't have the bandwidth to jump through all of those hoops (depression + undiagnosed adhd + kids with adhd and autism + fostering my grandbaby + intense perimenopause symptoms) so I downloaded BetterHealth and got a video appointment with a therapist the same week. I also found Mindpath/Community Health and found a local psychiatrist who didn't need a referal from my primary care and who can do appointments by
video. The only person between my and my psychiatrist is her secretary and it's always the same person, not some phone tree. I paid out of pocket for BetterHealth, and started out paying out of pocket for my psychiatrist (they were able to work with my insurance). I was able to get the help needed fast, but only because there were telehealth options outside of my insurance's ecosystem (and because I had a credit card).
Ryann, thank you for laying this out so clearly. What you describe is the quiet reality for so many women: the “system” is a maze of handoffs, gatekeepers, missed calls, and waitlists. By the time you reach the person you actually need, the urgency has already passed or the window for support has closed.
And what stands out in your story is exactly what I keep hearing from women everywhere: the moment telehealth becomes an option, the entire structure of care shifts because it’s the first time the pathway is direct. One point of contact, not a relay race.
It shouldn’t take a credit card and a crisis to access timely mental-health care. But your experience shows why women turn to telehealth long before institutions recognise its value.
Thank you for sharing this. I know many readers will see themselves in your words.
I went several years without insurance and no, I do have Kat basically just catastrophic insurance even though my age it’s not called that. I basically have it for the HSA attached to it.And I still continue to use practitioners and doctors that don’t require me to use insurance. I’ve spent a small fortune because going this route is still not super affordable but yes, it does get you the care so much faster and often with people that are better qualified than the doctors themselves who spent 10 minutes with you and want to give you certain drugs, or a misdiagnosis that you know is not right for you. I used insurance once last year to go to a primary care doctor just to establish and have a wart removed and ended up getting charged not by the doctor but by the hospital $1300. The problem was I’ve gone back for a second treatment and got another $1300 before I found out. I had the first charge because it took Weeks. It would’ve been cheaper just to go to outpatient or urgent care. The system is so completely broken. I’m so glad you found better help and doctors that could help you. It is life-changing having the right support.
If you could redesign telehealth specifically for midlife women, what would you add or remove to make it truly supportive of your health needs right now?
Remove the layers of people and insurance road blocks between a patient and the doctor(s) they need to see! Two years ago I desperately needed a therapist and a psychiatrist. But to get one within the established system, I'd have to 1. get an appointment with my primary care to request referrals 2. wait for the appointment 3. make it to the appointment 4. wait for the referral department to process my referals 5. wait for the specialist's office to call me 6. call them back to make an appointment (because I definitely missed their call) 7. wait for the appointment 8. make it to the appointment. It would have taken months to get through that process because our rural area is short on health care staff (so there are weeks and weeks until the next available appointment, and the referral department has/d a backlog). I couldn't wait that long, and didn't have the bandwidth to jump through all of those hoops (depression + undiagnosed adhd + kids with adhd and autism + fostering my grandbaby + intense perimenopause symptoms) so I downloaded BetterHealth and got a video appointment with a therapist the same week. I also found Mindpath/Community Health and found a local psychiatrist who didn't need a referal from my primary care and who can do appointments by
video. The only person between my and my psychiatrist is her secretary and it's always the same person, not some phone tree. I paid out of pocket for BetterHealth, and started out paying out of pocket for my psychiatrist (they were able to work with my insurance). I was able to get the help needed fast, but only because there were telehealth options outside of my insurance's ecosystem (and because I had a credit card).
Ryann, thank you for laying this out so clearly. What you describe is the quiet reality for so many women: the “system” is a maze of handoffs, gatekeepers, missed calls, and waitlists. By the time you reach the person you actually need, the urgency has already passed or the window for support has closed.
And what stands out in your story is exactly what I keep hearing from women everywhere: the moment telehealth becomes an option, the entire structure of care shifts because it’s the first time the pathway is direct. One point of contact, not a relay race.
It shouldn’t take a credit card and a crisis to access timely mental-health care. But your experience shows why women turn to telehealth long before institutions recognise its value.
Thank you for sharing this. I know many readers will see themselves in your words.
I went several years without insurance and no, I do have Kat basically just catastrophic insurance even though my age it’s not called that. I basically have it for the HSA attached to it.And I still continue to use practitioners and doctors that don’t require me to use insurance. I’ve spent a small fortune because going this route is still not super affordable but yes, it does get you the care so much faster and often with people that are better qualified than the doctors themselves who spent 10 minutes with you and want to give you certain drugs, or a misdiagnosis that you know is not right for you. I used insurance once last year to go to a primary care doctor just to establish and have a wart removed and ended up getting charged not by the doctor but by the hospital $1300. The problem was I’ve gone back for a second treatment and got another $1300 before I found out. I had the first charge because it took Weeks. It would’ve been cheaper just to go to outpatient or urgent care. The system is so completely broken. I’m so glad you found better help and doctors that could help you. It is life-changing having the right support.
I think it's so interesting what we can learn from less resourced areas. Exactly spot on.