Patient Safety | 07.06.22
Telehealth Flexibilities Didn't Send Medicare Visits Soaring, Despite Worries
by Michigan Health Lab
A preliminary report on Medicare data from the University of Michigan (U-M) shows older Americans often substituting telehealth visits for in-person visits. Patients and their healthcare providers are using telehealth for nearly 10 percent of outpatient appointments, and one in three people with traditional Medicare coverage saw a provider virtually at least once last year, the research shows. A decline in in-person visits during that same time and overall since 2019 runs counter to concerns about "runaway" growth in total visits after the easing of telehealth rules in early 2020 due to the pandemic. With those temporary rules about to expire, the new analysis could inform the development of more permanent telehealth policies.
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