Site of Care for COVID-19-Like Respiratory Illnesses.

COVID-19 is primarily a respiratory illness. Historically, upper and lower respiratory illness has been cared for at home or in the ambulatory primary care setting. It is likely that patients experiencing COVID-19-like symptoms may first contact their primary care provider. The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) is a representative sample of patients from the United States that regularly assesses their use of medical care services. We analyzed 2017 MEPS data to determine the number and proportion of patients who were seen in primary care or family medicine ambulatory settings or hospitalized for upper or lower respiratory illness or pneumonia. In a given year, 19.5 million patients are seen by primary care for an upper respiratory illness, 10.7 million patients for bronchitis, and 9 million for pneumonia. In contrast, 890,000 patients are hospitalized with pneumonia. Given that a primary etiology for respiratory illness in early 2020 was SARS CoV-2 (COVID-19), primary care practices likely were the site of first contact for most patients with COVID-19 illness. Unfortunately, there has been inadequate support for in-person and telehealth visits. Primary care clinicians reported serious shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) and testing capacity. Inadequate reimbursement for telehealth visits coupled with decreased in-person visits put primary care practices at risk of layoffs and closure. Policies related to primary care payment, federal relief efforts, PPE access, testing and follow-up capacity, and telehealth technical support are essential so primary care can provide first contact and continuity for their patients and communities throughout the COVID-19 pandemic response and recovery.

Westfall JM ，Jetty A ，Petterson S ，Jabbarpour Y ... -  《-》

Telehealth Practice Among Health Centers During the COVID-19 Pandemic - United States, July 11-17, 2020.

Demeke HB ，Pao LZ ，Clark H ，Romero L ，Neri A ，Shah R ，McDow KB ，Tindall E ，Iqbal NJ ，Hatfield-Timajchy K ，Bolton J ，Le X ，Hair B ，Campbell S ，Bui C ，Sandhu P ，Nwaise I ，Armstrong PA ，Rose MA ... -  《-》

Practice-Level Variation in Telemedicine Use in a Pediatric Primary Care Network During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Retrospective Analysis and Survey Study.

Telehealth, the delivery of health care through telecommunication technology, has potential to address multiple health system concerns. Despite this potential, only 15% of pediatric primary care clinicians reported using telemedicine as of 2016, with the majority identifying inadequate payment for these services as the largest barrier to their adoption. The COVID-19 pandemic led to rapid changes in payment and regulations surrounding telehealth, enabling its integration into primary care pediatrics. Due to limited use of telemedicine in primary care pediatrics prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, much is unknown about the role of telemedicine in pediatric primary care. To address this gap in knowledge, we examined the association between practice-level telemedicine use within a large pediatric primary care network and practice characteristics, telemedicine visit diagnoses, in-person visit volumes, child-level variations in telemedicine use, and clinician attitudes toward telemedicine. We analyzed electronic health record data from 45 primary care practices and administered a clinician survey to practice clinicians. Practices were stratified into tertiles based on rates of telemedicine use (low, intermediate, high) per 1000 patients per week during a two-week period (April 19 to May 2, 2020). By practice tertile, we compared (1) practice characteristics, (2) telemedicine visit diagnoses, (3) rates of in-person visits to the office, urgent care, and the emergency department, (4) child-level variation in telemedicine use, and (5) clinician attitudes toward telemedicine across these practices. Across pediatric primary care practices, telemedicine visit rates ranged from 5 to 23 telemedicine visits per 1000 patients per week. Across all tertiles, the most frequent telemedicine visit diagnoses were mental health (28%-36% of visits) and dermatologic (15%-28%). Compared to low telemedicine use practices, high telemedicine use practices had fewer in-person office visits (10 vs 16 visits per 1000 patients per week, P=.005) but more total encounters overall (in-office and telemedicine: 28 vs 22 visits per 1000 patients per week, P=.006). Telemedicine use varied with child age, race and ethnicity, and recent preventive care; however, no significant interactions existed between these characteristics and practice-level telemedicine use. Finally, clinician attitudes regarding the usability and impact of telemedicine did not vary significantly across tertiles. Across a network of pediatric practices, we identified significant practice-level variation in telemedicine use, with increased use associated with more varied telemedicine diagnoses, fewer in-person office visits, and increased overall primary care encounter volume. Thus, in the context of the pandemic, when underutilization of primary care was prevalent, higher practice-level telemedicine use supported pediatric primary care encounter volume closer to usual rates. Child-level telemedicine use differed by child age, race and ethnicity, and recent preventive care, building upon prior concerns about differences in access to telemedicine. However, increased practice-level use of telemedicine services was not associated with reduced or increased differences in use, suggesting that further work is needed to promote equitable access to primary care telemedicine.

Schweiberger K ，Hoberman A ，Iagnemma J ，Schoemer P ，Squire J ，Taormina J ，Wolfson D ，Ray KN ... -  《JOURNAL OF MEDICAL INTERNET RESEARCH》

Not Telehealth: Which Primary Care Visits Need In-Person Care?

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID 19) pandemic has resulted in a rapid shift to telehealth and many services that need in-person care have been avoided. Yet, as practices and payment policies return to a new normal, there will be many questions about what proportion of visits should be done in-person vs telehealth. Using the 2016 National Ambulatory Medical Survey (NAMCS), we estimated what proportion of visits were amenable to telehealth before COVID-19 as a guide. We divided services into those that needed in-person care and those that could be done via telehealth. Any visit that included at least 1 service where in-person care was needed was counted as an in-person only visit. We then calculated what proportion of reported visits and services in 2016 could have been provided via telehealth, as well as what proportion of in-person only services were done by primary care. We found that 66% of all primary care visits reported in NAMCS in 2016 required an in-person service. 90% of all wellness visits and immunizations were done in primary care offices, as were a quarter of all Papanicolaou smears. As practices reopen, patients will need to catch up on many of the in-person only visits that were postponed such as Papanicolaou smears and wellness visits. At the same time, patients and clinicians now accustomed to telehealth may have reservations about returning to in-person only visits. Our estimates may provide a guide to practices as they navigate how to deliver care in a post-COVID-19 environment.

Jabbarpour Y ，Jetty A ，Westfall M ，Westfall J ... -  《-》

Capacity of Primary Care to Deliver Telehealth in the United States.

Because of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID 19) pandemic, many primary care practices have transitioned to telehealth visits to keep patients at home and decrease the transmission of the disease. Yet, little is known about the nationwide capacity for delivering primary care services via telehealth. Using the 2016 National Ambulatory Medical Survey we estimated the number and proportion of reported visits and services that could be provided via telehealth. We also performed cross-tabulations to calculate the number and proportion of physicians providing telephone visits and e-mail/internet encounters. Of the total visits (nearly 400 million) to primary care physicians, 42% were amenable to telehealth and 73% of the total services rendered could be delivered through telehealth modalities. Of the primary care physicians, 44% provided telephone consults and 19% provided e-consults. This study underscores how and where primary care services could be delivered. It provides the first estimates of the capacity of primary care to provide telehealth services for COVID-19 related illness, and for several other acute and chronic medical conditions. It also highlights the fact that, as of 2016, most outpatient telehealth visits were done via telephone. This study provides an estimate of the primary care capacity to deliver telehealth and can guide practices and payers as care delivery models change in a post-COVID 19 environment.

Jetty A ，Jabbarpour Y ，Westfall M ，Kamerow DB ，Petterson S ，Westfall JM ... -  《-》