Patient Safety | 10.12.20
Preventive Care Dropped During Pandemic Despite Rise in Telehealth Visits: Study
by FierceHealthcare
FierceHealthcare (10/08/20) Landi, Heather
According to a new study published in JAMA Open, there have been substantial decreases in primary care delivery during the pandemic despite the increase in the number of telehealth visits. During the height of the COVID-19 crisis, physicians turned to virtual consultations to continue to provide patient care. The research, though, shows that primary care visits decreased by 21% from April through June versus with the average quarterly visit volume of the second quarters of 2018 and last year. Telemedicine visits accounted for fewer than 2% of primary care visits in 2019, but soared to 35% of visits during 2020's second quarter. Nevertheless, there were significant reductions in the primary care assessment of patients' cardiovascular risk factors such as blood pressure and cholesterol levels as doctors were less likely to conduct these evaluations during telehealth visits as opposed to office-based visits.
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