After COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth use remains strong for primary care, behavioral health

© Kate3155 stock.adobe.com

After the expansion of telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic, telemental health and primary care remain among the specialties using it the most, according to a new study.

Female physicians and doctors in cities also are seeing patients online instead of in person, according to the review of data from 2022.

The study, “Telehealth Delivery Differs Significantly By Physicians And Practice Characteristics,” was published in Health Affairs. Researchers examined Medicare fee-for-service claims data to consider how doctors used technology to interact with patients.

The authors noted change could be on the horizon for telehealth. “With many provisions set to expire at the end of 2024, policy makers may benefit from information about the types of physicians, practices, and patients that would be most affected by policy changes,” the study said.

Among the findings:

• Women doctors had a larger percentage of telehealth claims as a percentage of all evaluation and management (E&M) claims, compared with male physicians: 9.2% vs. 6.4%.
• Those percentages were close for female vs. male primary care physicians: 9% vs 6.3%.
• Male primary care doctors outpaced female primary care doctors for percentage of National Provider Identifiers with at least one telehealth claim: 65.3% vs. 43.2%.
• Psychiatry by far had the largest percentages of telehealth claims as a percentage of all E&M claims: 44.6% for male physicians, 49.1% for female physicians. In second place was neurology, 11.9% for male physicians, 16.4% for female physicians.
• Dermatology was the specialty with the lowest percentage of telehealth claims as a percentage of all E&M claims: 0.5% for male physicians, 0.7% for female physicians.
• For physician age, doctors aged 40 to 59 years were the most likely to offer telehealth services, compared with physicians up to age 39 and aged 66 years and older.

The study found regional variations in telemedicine use. Primary care tended to use telehealth at greater rates in the Northeast and West, while psychiatrists did not show regional patterns. Across the board, doctors in metropolitan areas used telehealth more than those in rural areas.

The authors noted four key findings from the data.

• Female physicians may have greater familial responsibilities and may value the scheduling and location flexibilities of telehealth.
• Behavioral health care provided by telehealth is not inferior to in-person care, which could expand access and outcomes for patients.
• More research is needed to understand how telehealth can expand access for rural patients in areas with shortages of primary care and other specialties.
• Primary care physicians with greater telehealth capability tended to see more medically and socially complex patients, while psychiatrists with greater telehealth provision saw fewer of those patients.

The research was supported by The Physicians Foundation Center for the Study of Physician Practice and Leadership at Weill Cornell Medicine.