Residents across Hawaiʻi can now access a new virtual intensive outpatient program for mental health, substance use and co-occurring conditions. Hawaiʻi Virtual Care offers scheduled treatment from the islands, an option for people seeking more structured care than a weekly therapy appointment without entering residential treatment, according to Big Island Now.
An evening program across the islands
Big Island Now reported that the program provides roughly 12 clinical hours a week, with video sessions Monday through Thursday evenings. Its reported format combines group, individual and family therapy, with separate tracks for mental health, substance use and co-occurring conditions. The outlet also reported that founder Jeff Klein cited distance and insurance costs as barriers for Hawaiʻi residents seeking treatment on the mainland.
Those details describe the program’s schedule and format, not its results. The launch coverage does not establish whether the program will reduce wait times or the statewide psychiatrist shortage, nor does it specify its insurance participation or clinical outcomes.
What the shortage estimate measures
Big Island Now cited the University of Hawaiʻi’s 2025 Physician Workforce Report for an estimated 39% statewide shortage of adult psychiatrists. The outlet also reported larger gaps on Hawaiʻi Island and Kauaʻi—each lacking roughly two-thirds of the psychiatrists needed to meet demand—and a shortfall of nearly half on Maui. These are workforce estimates, not a count of people waiting for care.
The report’s psychiatry-demand assessment is 20.5 per 100,000 people, a modeled benchmark rather than a count of available psychiatrists. It separately estimates an unmet need of 833 physician full-time equivalents statewide after accounting for geographic realities; that figure covers physicians generally, not psychiatrists alone, according to the University of Hawaiʻi Physician Workforce Assessment Project.
A new service within a wider care system
The new virtual program is one part of a broader landscape of care. The Hawaiʻi Department of Health’s Adult Mental Health Division says it provides services through state-operated Community Mental Health Centers located statewide and through contracts with private and nonprofit providers. The department’s description establishes that public and contracted services operate across the state; it does not specify how those services connect with Hawaiʻi Virtual Care.
The state is also planning a separate telehealth effort. The governor’s office says Hawaiʻi’s rural health transformation plan includes the Pili Ola Telehealth Network, intended to connect rural communities with providers and expand virtual care and telehealth training. That announcement describes a planned network, not evidence that behavioral-health access or outcomes have already changed, according to the Office of the Governor.
A February 2026 Civil Beat Community Voices opinion essay discusses shortages of psychiatric prescribers, particularly on neighbor islands and in rural communities. The essay argues that telehealth has expanded access for many residents but has not, by itself, met the need for timely, continuous care. As an opinion essay, it offers perspective on access challenges rather than a measure of this new program’s effectiveness.
