Does telehealth lead to unnecessary care?

Does telehealth lead to unnecessary care? :©Proxima Studio - stock.adobe.com

As Congress approaches a decision on the future of telehealth regulations for Medicare, a recent University of Michigan study suggests policymakers may be able to set aside one major concern: the risk of telehealth leading to increased low-value care. The study, published in JAMA Network Open, found that primary care practices with high telehealth usage did not see a surge in low-value tests and procedures compared to those with less telehealth engagement.

Researchers analyzed data from nearly 578,000 Michigan Medicare patients seen across more than 2,550 primary care practices from 2019 to 2022. They focused on eight types of low-value care, including unnecessary cancer screenings and imaging for conditions like sinus infections or back pain. The study found that in six of the eight care types, rates either declined or remained stable, irrespective of telehealth usage levels. In fact, high-telehealth practices saw faster reductions in low-value services such as cervical cancer screening for women over 65 and blood tests for thyroid hormone levels in hypothyroid patients.

“Our findings are reassuring in the context of current telehealth policy decisions,” said lead author Terrence Liu, M.D., a primary care physician and researcher at the U-M Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, in a statement. He said that the results suggest telehealth may not drive unnecessary care, alleviating fears that virtual visits could lead to wasteful testing.

The study builds on earlier research from the University of Michigan, which showed that telehealth does not increase follow-up in-person visits. Both studies point to a trend where telehealth, rather than burdening the health care system, could be incorporated without increasing costs related to low-value care.

“Telehealth is a supplement to traditional care delivery, not a replacement,” Liu said. “We need to integrate it effectively into our health care system, looking for ways to minimize low-value care in both virtual and in-person settings.”