Though the drop in primary care visit volume was partially offset by telehealth use during the COVID-19 pandemic, new research reveals that these changes varied significantly across patient characteristics, with significant declines in overall visit volume among patients with more comorbidities, among others.
Published in the Annals of Family Medicine, the study examined how the decreases in primary care visit volume and increases in telehealth utilization nationwide differed across patient groups during the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic threw into sharp relief the healthcare disparities that curbed care access for some demographic groups. Various social determinants of health factors, including race, location of residency, and primary language, can hinder healthcare access.
See the full article here: https://www.techtarget.com/virtualhealthcare/news/366599675/Telehealth-offsets-primary-care-visit-declines-but-not-equally
