Impact of telehealth on health care resource utilization during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Aim: To assess healthcare utilization (HCRU) among patients with incident telehealth visit during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials & methods: Retrospective pre-post analyses was conducted using HealthJump data. Adults continuously enrolled with an incident telehealth visit between Feb and April 2020 were identified. Demographics, clinical characteristics, proportion of patients with ≥1 HCRU visits and post-index trends in HCRU were analyzed. Results: Sample constituted 2799 patients, 60.34% female and 46.23% white with mean age 59.70. Significant increase in patients with outpatient visits (5.36%, p < 0.005; only established), non-face-to-face visits (99.50%, p < 0.005) and prescription use (12.86%, p < 0.005) was reported. Conclusion: Among patients utilizing telehealth during COVID-19 pandemic, HCRU changed significantly. Better deployment policies and adoption techniques of telehealth could potentially act as a strong tool to revolutionize the healthcare delivery, with or without the pandemic.

Telehealth Use and Healthcare Utilization Among Individuals with Type 2 Diabetes During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence From Louisiana Medicaid Claims

“…A recent study found an increase in outpatient visits after receiving telehealth [ 31 ]. They found a significant increase (5.36%) in the proportion of established patients with OP visits during the pandemic for the overall sample compared to the pre-pandemic.…”

“…However, our slightly larger findings (approximately 15%) may be explained as we included a control group that accounted for the more limited number of OP visits available during the pandemic period. Another study also found telehealth users had more in-person outpatient visits than non-telehealth users; it was conducted among Medicare beneficiaries with type 2 diabetes [ 27 ]. These findings indicate that telehealth is a promising approach to maintain contact between patients and physicians, which could promote more in-person outpatient visits for needed care or examinations.…”

COVID-19 and the resurgence of telehealth in otolaryngology

“…With the ever growing pressure on hospital systems to reduce cost of care, telehealth may help improve clinical efficiency without compromising quality of care. 62 In Otolaryngology as well as other specialties, telehealth visits have been shown to decrease office visit cycle time, defined as the time that a patient spends at a visit, when compared to in-person visits. 52 , 63 , 64 Moving forward, incorporation of telemedicine into the workflow of healthcare systems is key to transitioning current practices into a sustainable patient care model.…”

Effect of telehealth‐based versus in‐person nutritional and exercise intervention on type II diabetes mellitus improvement and efficiency of human resources utilization in patients with obesity

“…Little is also known about the effect of telehealth on resource utilization. Arora et al reported a significant increase in prescription use during telehealth care but not specifically for the treatment of diabetes and obesity 5 . Telehealth implementation in an adolescent bariatric surgery program led to an increase in attendance rates (83.1% vs. 70.5%) and a reduction in cancellation rates (9.9% vs. 22.5%) compared to in‐person appointments 6 .…”