2025’s mental-health boom is redefining telehealth and billing. Learn key regulations, codes, workflows, and RCM tips to boost revenue and stay compliant

The Global Mental-Health Surge: What’s driving it? 

Global practices, mental-health providers and billing specialists: welcome. If you’ve been following developments in digital care, tele-behavioural health, hybrid service delivery and revenue-cycle management, you’re seeing seismic change. The world is in the middle of a mental-health surge, and that surge is reshaping how care is delivered and how it gets paid for.  

You don’t have to look far to see the demand for mental-health services is climbing. Multiple factors are converging, anxiety, depression, burnout, post-pandemic residual effects, stigma lowering, digital access improving, and increased recognition of mental-health as a global priority. A recent review in Digital Mental Health reports that digital mental‐health tools are moving from novelty to mainstream, and the supply-demand gap is still massive. Meanwhile, telemedicine usage worldwide has stabilized, at 2–5 times above pre-pandemic levels, and behavioural and chronic care remain among the largest categories. And if you look at articles about mental-health billing and trends for 2025, you’ll see headings like “key mental-health billing trends you need to watch”, this is a sign the industry knows this is a turning point. 

Why is this happening globally? A few underlying themes: 

Access & geography: Telehealth enables mental-health services to reach remote or underserved regions; whether in rural Canada, parts of Europe, or low-resource settings in middle-income countries. 

Technology: Digital platforms, smartphone apps, VR, wearables and AI are all contributing to new forms of mental-health intervention.  

Normalization & policy: More governments, payers, and regulators are treating mental health as core healthcare (not fringe), meaning reimbursement, telehealth access, and integration with primary care are improving. 

Hybridisation: The model is no longer only in-person vs remote; we’re seeing blended care (part tele, part face-to-face) as standard. 

So: your practice or billing team is not dealing with just another service line. Behavioural health and tele-mental health are now central to the conversation, and your revenue cycle must adapt accordingly. 

Telehealth & Behavioural Health in 2025: What’s different? 

Now that we know why the demand is there, let’s unpack how the delivery and billing models are being reshaped. 

Telehealth is not a mere video chat 

Yes, telehealth has been around a while. But in 2025, the maturity is higher. A recent article lists Top-10 telemedicine trends shaping healthcare in 2025, including AI, 5G, remote monitoring, hybrid care models. 

For behavioral health specifically: 

Virtual visits (video) continue to grow, but audio-only (phone) still matter in many settings (especially underserved). 

Digital therapeutics (apps, VR, AI guided) are beginning to enter the mainstream. A particular article titled, Digital mental health mentions smartphone apps, virtual reality and generative AI as new domains for mental-health support. 

Hybrid care models (tele + in-person) are becoming the norm: patients expect flexibility; providers are designing workflows accordingly. 

Global regulatory and billing shifts 

Global billing and regulatory shifts are redefining how healthcare providers deliver, document, and get paid for services. Staying compliant means continuously updating billing workflows, monitoring policy changes, and partnering with experts who understand the evolving global healthcare landscape, such as Delon Health, which helps practices manage compliant, cross-border medical billing with precision and efficiency. Because mental-health tele-services are expanding across borders, different jurisdictions are evolving their rules.      A recent post on telehealth rules and regulations notes that telehealth providers must often comply with both the patient’s location and the provider’s licensing/regulation regime. Billing updates for 2025-26 show clinics must prepare for changing CPT codes, modality distinctions (audio vs video), supervision definitions and payer-policy shifts. (OmniMD).   On the behavioural health front, “mental health billing trends you need to watch in 2025” highlight that telehealth, AI integration and reimbursement are front and centre. (Info Hub Consultancy) 

What this means for mental-health practices 

If you’re running or supporting a mental-health practice (including psychology, psychiatry, functional/behavioural medicine), you’re seeing these concrete shifts: 

Greater expectation of tele-accessibility (i.e., remote care must be part of your offering) 

More diverse service modalities e.g., micro-check-ins, remote therapeutic monitoring (RTM), asynchronous digital interventions 

Billing and coding complexity increasing: service location (home vs clinic), modality (audio vs video), payer policy, supervision/oversight rules 

A need for tighter documentation, workflow alignment, and revenue-cycle management (RCM) strategy, denying or coding errors are more costly than ever. 

Medical Billing in the Age of Global Tele-Behavioural Health 

Now let’s get into the billing side: Because the global mental-health boom is happening, practices must treat billing not as an afterthought, but as a strategic driver. 

1 Revenue-Cycle Implications 

When tele-behavioral health is done well: 

More billable encounters: remote access reduces geographic & time barriers, enabling more frequent or flexible visits. 

New modalities = new codes: For example, audio-only visits, short check-ins, remote monitoring all may have specific CPT/HCPCS codes. 

Efficiency potential: Lower overhead (less facility cost, fewer no-shows) if tele-is-enabled well. A recent article on telemedicine billing in 2025 noted virtual visits cut overhead by 30-50%.  

But more risk: non‐compliance, wrong modifiers, mis‐coding, or using outdated templates = higher denial rates. 

Global footprint: If your practice serves tele-clients across states or internationally (depending on licensing), you may face multiple payer rules, multiple location definitions, payer parity issues. 

2 Key Billing & Coding Trends to Watch 

Here are some of the most important billing/coding trends for 2025 that relate particularly to tele-behavioral health and global delivery: 

Modifier & place-of-service (POS) distinctions: Many payers still require POS codes (e.g., POS 10 for home, POS 02 for telehealth distinct from in-office). The clinic must ensure correct mapping and templates.  

Audio-only visits: For behavioural health, some payers have expanded coverage for audio (telephone) visits, but policies vary and may change. 

Remote Therapeutic Monitoring (RTM) and Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM): Although more common for physical healthcare, mental-health practices are also exploring remote monitoring (mood tracking, wearables) and these modalities may open new billing lines. For example, the market outlook for telehealth mentions remote monitoring among key trends.  

Digital therapeutics and app-based interventions: While still early in many jurisdictions, the growth of digital mental‐health tools means your practice may need to consider how to code and bill for app sessions, digital check-ins, asynchronous support. This is an important watch area. 

Global/licensing issue & cross-jurisdiction billing: If you serve clients across state lines or internationally, you must align with licensure, payer rules, privacy/regulation (e.g., GDPR in EU) and local billing practices. The telehealth rules article underscores licensure/licensing complexity. 

Hybrid care and bundled models: As blended virtual + in-person models become standard, billing models may shift to value-based care, bundled services or subscription-style care models (especially for functional medicine/behavioural health).  

3 Practical Billing Pitfalls & How to Avoid Them 

Let’s be real, many practices get billing wrong and it’s even more risky in a tele-behavioural health environment. Here are common pitfalls and how to steer clear: 

Pitfall: Using the wrong POS or modifier because staff assume telehealth is the same as in-office. 

Solution: Audit your templates every quarter. Make sure the correct POS (e.g., home or telehealth) and modifier (e.g., 95) are captured, depending on payers. 

Pitfall: Documentation doesn’t reflect the remote reality (e.g., technology used, consent obtained, location of patient and provider). 

Solution: Update your intake/visit documentation to include modality (video vs phone), location (patient’s home vs facility), platform used, consent for telehealth. 

Pitfall: Not monitoring payer policy changes, you assume audio visits are covered, then find out they aren’t for certain payers. 

Solution: Designate someone (or outsource) to monitor payer telehealth policy updates quarterly and maintain a policy-matrix of major payers you accept. 

Pitfall: Trying to retrofit physical-care billing models to mental-health tele services without adapting workflows or training staff. 

Solution: Train staff on tele-behavioral workflows. For instance: shorter check-in sessions may still be billable but require specific codes; remote monitoring may require separate tracking, etc. 

Pitfall: Ignoring global/licence implications when providing remote care across jurisdictions. 

Solution: If you serve international or multi-state clients, map licensure, billing rules, data/privacy regulations ahead of time. Better yet: use a global‐ready RCM partner. 

Practical Steps for Mental-Health Practices & RCM Teams 

Now we’ve covered the context and how billing is being reshaped. Let’s outline actionable steps your practice (or your billing/RCM team) can take right now. 

Step 1: Conduct a Tele-Behavioural Health Billing Audit 

Review your current service offerings: how many virtual visits, audio only, in-person, hybrid? 

Check your templates/forms: do they capture modality (video vs audio), patient location (home vs facility), technology platform, consent? 

Extract your top 10 payers: for each, map telehealth reimbursement policies (audio allowed? POS required? Modifier required?). 

Compare your denied claims over the past 6–12 months for tele-behavioural services and identify trends (e.g., denied because of wrong POS or missing modifier). 

Update your documentation/training standards accordingly. 

Step 2: Update Coding & Workflow for 2025 Trends 

Update your code-sets to include any new telehealth or digital-therapeutic codes relevant to behavioural health and remote monitoring.  

Ensure your workflows reflect shorter/remote sessions, digital follow-ups, remote check-ins. For instance: if you provide brief tele check-ins for mood tracking, ensure you have the correct CPT/HCPCS code. 

Train staff: intake, scheduling, front desk, documentation and billing teams all need to know tele-behavioural health workflow differences (e.g., capturing modality, technology consent, location). 

Use EHR/PM system flags: set templates for video vs audio only, auto-apply modifier based on modality if possible. 

Step 3: Prepare for Hybrid and Digital-Therapeutic Modalities 

If your practice uses or plans to use digital tools (apps, VR sessions, asynchronous messaging), map how you will bill those. This might require negotiating payer contracts or building in-house subscription models. 

Consider remote monitoring: For patients with chronic behavioural health issues, remote monitoring (e.g., mood tracking devices, sleep apps) may open future billing lines. 

Design your service hierarchy: in-person visit → video visit → audio-only check-in → asynchronous app-session. Understand how each is billed/valued by payers. 

Step 4: Ensure Compliance & Global Readiness 

Licensure: If you serve international or interstate patients, ensure providers are licensed for the patient’s location. The telehealth rules article warns of provider-licence issues.  

Privacy/data security: Telehealth and digital mental health often involve sensitive PHI and use of apps/devices, align with HIPAA, GDPR (if applicable), local data-protection laws. 

Cross-jurisdiction billing: Map out payer rules for each region/state you serve, e.g., some states require payment parity for telehealth; others don’t.  

Documentation: Ensure your consent covers remote sessions, technology used, modification of care plan, emergency protocols (especially for remote behavioural health). 

Audit readiness: with increasing payer scrutiny of telehealth and digital modalities, your practice should maintain documentation and audit logs of modality, patient location, provider location, technology used. 

Step 5: Partner or Outsource Strategically 

If your practice does not have in-house resources for managing the expanding complexity of tele-behavioural health billing and global delivery, consider a specialised RCM partner that: 

Focuses on behavioural health and telehealth billing 

Tracks payer policy changes globally/in multiple states 

Automates correct POS/modifier assignment based on modality 

Provides analytics on denial trends, telehealth encounter volumes, revenue per modality 

Offers licensing/licence-monitoring support if doing multi-state or international remote care 

Opportunities & Risks 

Opportunities 

Scale: Remote behavioural health enables reaching patients previously inaccessible (rural, underserved, cross-border). 

New revenue streams: Digital therapeutics, remote monitoring, micro-visits, check-ins, these expand the service model and billing potential. 

Efficiency: Telehealth can reduce no-shows, reduce overhead, shorten cycle times, and increase encounter volume. 

Competitive advantage: Practices that invest early in tele-behavioural workflows and billing readiness will outperform. 

Global expansion: With telehealth / digital, you can reach clients in multiple states or countries (provided licensure & payer model allow) and diversify revenue sources. 

Risks 

Regulatory change: The 2025-26 window may bring major policy shifts (e.g., new CPT codes, in-person visit requirements for telehealth, licensing changes). If you’re not prepared, you could be caught off guard. For example, one source notes if Congress does not act, certain Medicare telehealth flexibilities could expire.  

Billing errors: Telehealth modalities and payer rules are more complex; wrong POS/modifier or mis-documentation will lead to increased denials. 

Data privacy/security: Digital mental-health tools and remote monitoring introduce new risk surfaces (devices, apps, remote platforms). 

Competition & commoditisation: As telehealth becomes more widespread, price pressure and commoditisation may reduce margins unless your practice differentiates. 

Digital divide: Even though telehealth expands access, underserved populations still face connectivity/language/tech-literacy barriers. The digital mental-health review warns about scaling and equity issues. 

Bringing It Back to Your Practice & Delon Health 

If you’re reading this, you likely run (or support) a mental-health, behavioural-health, or functional-medicine practice; and you’re feeling the pressure: more demand, more modalities, more billing complexity. The good news is this shift is an opportunity. But to capitalise, you need both clinical excellence and billing/RCM rigor. 

Here’s a quick checklist to take into your next team meeting: 

Are we capturing the modality (video vs audio vs asynchronous) and location (home vs facility) for every remote visit? 

Do our EHR/scheduling/billing templates reflect the tele-behavioral workflow? 

Have we audited the past 12 months of telehealth billing denials for behavioral services and acted on patterns? 

Have we mapped our top payers’ telehealth policies (audio allowed? modifier required? POS codes?) and updated our workflows accordingly? 

If we provide digital-therapeutic or remote-monitoring services, do we have a billing model and workflow for those? 

Are we tracking licensure and payer policy by state or country (if we serve remotely across jurisdictions)? 

Are we monitoring upcoming CPT/HCPCS changes for 2026 to stay ahead of policy shifts? 

At Delon Health, we specialise in helping mental-health, behavioural-health and functional-medicine practices navigate exactly this complexity. From remote-care workflows to correct telehealth billing codes, modifiers, payer policy mapping, denial-analysis and revenue optimisation, we’ve got you. If you’d like to streamline your billing, boost clean claims, and scale your tele-behavioural health services across states or borders, we’re ready to help. 

Conclusion 

The global mental-health boom of 2025 is here, and with it comes a redefinition of how care is delivered and how it’s reimbursed. Telehealth, digital therapeutics, remote monitoring and hybrid models are becoming the trending standards. For mental-health and behavioural-health providers, that means your delivery model must evolve, and your billing/RCM systems must keep up. 

If you stay ahead by auditing your workflow, updating your coding, training your team, monitoring policy shifts, and working with a partner who understands tele-behavioural health billing, you can turn this shift into a growth driver rather than a risk. But if you lag, you risk lost revenue, higher denials, missed opportunities and growth. 

At Delon Health, we make this transition smoother. We help you master tele-behavioural health billing, global or multi-state workflows, and the revenue cycle complexity that comes with it. Let us help you embrace the future of mental-health care, so you can focus on what you do best: caring for your patients. Contact us today to learn how we can optimise your billing and let your care model flourish.