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Home Research Research Library The Disproportionate Impact of Primary Care Disruption and Telehealth Utilization During COVID-19 The Disproportionate Impact of Primary Care Disruption and Telehealth Utilization During COVID-19 2024 Author(s) Morgan, Zachary J, Bazemore, Andrew W, Peterson, Lars E, Phillips, Robert L, and Dai, Mingliang Topic(s) Role of Primary Care Keyword(s) Practice Organization / Ownership, and Prime Volume Annals of Family Medicine Source Annals of Family Medicine PURPOSE The COVID-19 pandemic not only exacerbated existing disparities in health care in general but likely worsened disparities in access to primary care. Our objective was to quantify the nationwide decrease in primary care visits and increase in telehealth utilization during the pandemic and explore whether certain groups of patients were disproportionately affected. METHODS We used a geographically diverse primary care electronic health record data set to examine the following 3 outcomes: (1) change in total visit volume, (2) change in in-person visit volume, and (3) the telehealth conversion ratio defined as the number of pandemic telehealth visits divided by the total number of prepandemic visits. We assessed whether these outcomes were associated with patient characteristics including age, gender, race, ethnicity, comorbidities, rurality, and area-level social deprivation. RESULTS Our primary sample included 1,652,871 patients from 408 practices. During the pandemic we observed decreases of 7% and 17% in total and in-person visit volume and a 10% telehealth conversion ratio. The greatest decreases in visit volume were observed among pediatric patients (−24%), Asian patients (−11%), and those with more comorbidities (−9%). Telehealth usage was greatest among Hispanic or Latino patients (17%) and those living in urban areas (12%). CONCLUSIONS Decreases in primary care visit volume were partially offset by increasing telehealth use for all patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the magnitude of these changes varied significantly across all patient characteristics. These variations have implications not only for the long-term consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, but also for planners seeking to ready the primary care delivery system for any future systematic disruptions. Read More ABFM Research Read all 2022 How the Gender Wage Gap for Primary Care Physicians Differs by Compensation Approach : A Microsimulation Study Go to How the Gender Wage Gap for Primary Care Physicians Differs by Compensation Approach : A Microsimulation Study 2018 Rural Family Physicians in Patient Centered Medical Homes Have a Broader Scope of Practice Go to Rural Family Physicians in Patient Centered Medical Homes Have a Broader Scope of Practice 2024 Policy Briefs With Personality: How to Innovatively Disseminate Evidence for Advocacy Go to Policy Briefs With Personality: How to Innovatively Disseminate Evidence for Advocacy 2016 Reimagining Our Relationships with Patients: A Perspective from the Keystone IV Conference Go to Reimagining Our Relationships with Patients: A Perspective from the Keystone IV Conference
Author(s) Morgan, Zachary J, Bazemore, Andrew W, Peterson, Lars E, Phillips, Robert L, and Dai, Mingliang Topic(s) Role of Primary Care Keyword(s) Practice Organization / Ownership, and Prime Volume Annals of Family Medicine Source Annals of Family Medicine
ABFM Research Read all 2022 How the Gender Wage Gap for Primary Care Physicians Differs by Compensation Approach : A Microsimulation Study Go to How the Gender Wage Gap for Primary Care Physicians Differs by Compensation Approach : A Microsimulation Study 2018 Rural Family Physicians in Patient Centered Medical Homes Have a Broader Scope of Practice Go to Rural Family Physicians in Patient Centered Medical Homes Have a Broader Scope of Practice 2024 Policy Briefs With Personality: How to Innovatively Disseminate Evidence for Advocacy Go to Policy Briefs With Personality: How to Innovatively Disseminate Evidence for Advocacy 2016 Reimagining Our Relationships with Patients: A Perspective from the Keystone IV Conference Go to Reimagining Our Relationships with Patients: A Perspective from the Keystone IV Conference
2022 How the Gender Wage Gap for Primary Care Physicians Differs by Compensation Approach : A Microsimulation Study Go to How the Gender Wage Gap for Primary Care Physicians Differs by Compensation Approach : A Microsimulation Study
2018 Rural Family Physicians in Patient Centered Medical Homes Have a Broader Scope of Practice Go to Rural Family Physicians in Patient Centered Medical Homes Have a Broader Scope of Practice
2024 Policy Briefs With Personality: How to Innovatively Disseminate Evidence for Advocacy Go to Policy Briefs With Personality: How to Innovatively Disseminate Evidence for Advocacy
2016 Reimagining Our Relationships with Patients: A Perspective from the Keystone IV Conference Go to Reimagining Our Relationships with Patients: A Perspective from the Keystone IV Conference