Has increased telehealth access during COVID-19 led to over-utilization of primary care?
Abstract Telehealth use for primary care has skyrocketed since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Enthusiasts have praised this new medium of delivery as a way to increase access to care while potentially reducing spending. Over two years into the pandemic, the question of whether telehealth will l...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2022-12-01
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| Series: | npj Digital Medicine |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-022-00740-4 |
| _version_ | 1827775106390163456 |
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| author | Kaushik P. Venkatesh Marium M. Raza Joseph Kvedar |
| author_facet | Kaushik P. Venkatesh Marium M. Raza Joseph Kvedar |
| author_sort | Kaushik P. Venkatesh |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Telehealth use for primary care has skyrocketed since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Enthusiasts have praised this new medium of delivery as a way to increase access to care while potentially reducing spending. Over two years into the pandemic, the question of whether telehealth will lead to an increase in primary care utilization and spending has been met with contradictory answers. Some evidence suggests that telehealth may be used as an addition to in-person visits. Others like Dixit et al. have found that telehealth can actually substitute for in-person care rather than contribute to overutilization. As telehealth continues to evolve, outcomes, utilization, and quality of care should be closely monitored. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T13:47:27Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9bfa3306202c41788df0523e2070eb83 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2398-6352 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T13:47:27Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | npj Digital Medicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-9bfa3306202c41788df0523e2070eb832023-11-02T10:12:11ZengNature Portfolionpj Digital Medicine2398-63522022-12-01511310.1038/s41746-022-00740-4Has increased telehealth access during COVID-19 led to over-utilization of primary care?Kaushik P. Venkatesh0Marium M. Raza1Joseph Kvedar2Harvard Medical SchoolHarvard Medical SchoolHarvard Medical SchoolAbstract Telehealth use for primary care has skyrocketed since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Enthusiasts have praised this new medium of delivery as a way to increase access to care while potentially reducing spending. Over two years into the pandemic, the question of whether telehealth will lead to an increase in primary care utilization and spending has been met with contradictory answers. Some evidence suggests that telehealth may be used as an addition to in-person visits. Others like Dixit et al. have found that telehealth can actually substitute for in-person care rather than contribute to overutilization. As telehealth continues to evolve, outcomes, utilization, and quality of care should be closely monitored.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-022-00740-4 |
| spellingShingle | Kaushik P. Venkatesh Marium M. Raza Joseph Kvedar Has increased telehealth access during COVID-19 led to over-utilization of primary care? npj Digital Medicine |
| title | Has increased telehealth access during COVID-19 led to over-utilization of primary care? |
| title_full | Has increased telehealth access during COVID-19 led to over-utilization of primary care? |
| title_fullStr | Has increased telehealth access during COVID-19 led to over-utilization of primary care? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Has increased telehealth access during COVID-19 led to over-utilization of primary care? |
| title_short | Has increased telehealth access during COVID-19 led to over-utilization of primary care? |
| title_sort | has increased telehealth access during covid 19 led to over utilization of primary care |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-022-00740-4 |
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