Although the intervention costs for telehealth were higher relative to in-person care, older veterans with depression receiving behavioral activation via telehealth had lower health utilization costs 1 year after the intervention than those receiving care in person, while quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) were approximately the same. This according to a recent study that examined whether delivering behavioral activation for depression through telehealth is cost-effective compared to in-person care. Researchers conducted a randomized, non-inferiority trial, with participants assigned to 1 of 2 arms of 8-week behavioral activation therapy: in-person or via telehealth. Primary clinical outcomes included measures of depression (Geriatric Depression Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, and Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV) at 12-months follow-up. 241 participants were enrolled and completed study procedures between April 2007 and July 2012. They found:

• Post-intervention, veterans treated in-person had a mean of $2,998 higher Veterans Affairs (VA) health care utilization costs relative to their pre-intervention utilization costs, while veterans treated via telehealth had a mean of $870.91 higher costs post-intervention relative to pre-intervention.
• The difference between bootstrap mean and median QALYs was not significantly different from 0.