FAIR Health’s white paper showed a 76% decline in telehealth uses from 2020 to 2021, with a 14% increase in urgent care center usage. The report included healthcare indicators analyzing trends and patterns in healthcare delivery, such as claim line submissions, costs, and procedure categories. Notably, the report found COVID-19 on the list of the most common diagnostic categories across retail clinics, urgent care centers, telehealth, and ERs for patients over 22 years old. The findings are expected to inform telehealth legislation and strategy in both the public and private sectors.
Telehealth use in the United States has seen significant changes in recent years, with usage rates declining between 2020 and 2021, while its application has increased in urgent care centers. A white paper released by FAIR Health, an independent nonprofit organization with a mission of increasing transparency surrounding healthcare costs and insurance information, contained healthcare indicators that outline trends and patterns in healthcare delivery, taking into account factors such as geography, demographics, diagnoses, procedures, and costs.
According to the report, while telehealth use in the country grew by 5,017% between 2016 and 2021, it declined by 76% between 2020 and 2021. Regarding locations, telehealth use increased by 14% in urgent care centers, decreased by 7% in ambulatory surgery centers, and decreased by 15% in emergency rooms (ERs) between 2020 and 2021. Among these locations, telehealth accounted for 3.7% of all medical claim lines nationally in 2021.
The report also showed that, in 2021, there were more claim line submissions for females than males. Additionally, COVID-19 appeared on the list of the most common diagnostic categories in retail clinics, urgent care centers, telehealth, and ERs for patients over the age of 22.
The median charge amount for new patient outpatient visits in offices, urgent care centers, and retail clinics was $240 in 2021, with the median charge for offices at $226.
The report further analyzed changes in costs and facilities between May 2012 and November 2022, using six procedure categories: professional evaluation and management, hospital E&M, medicine, surgery, pathology and laboratory, and radiology. During the period from November 2021 to November 2022, hospital E&Ms had the greatest increase in charge amount at 6%, while surgery and pathology, and laboratory each had the largest increase in the allowed amount index at 4%. Professional E&Ms had the least noticeable increase in the allowed amount index. Among all categories, radiology remained flat in the charge amount index. For medicine, the charge amount index rose by 2%, and the allowed amount index rose by 3%.
The FAIR Health researchers expected that this data and future reports would prove useful in shaping telehealth legislation and strategy in the public and private sectors. FAIR Health President Robin Gelburd noted in a press release that “We hope that this new edition of FH Healthcare Indicators and FH Medical Price Index, like those in previous years, continues to inform decision making throughout the healthcare sector by payors, providers, government officials, policymakers, academic researchers, and others.”
In February 2022, a brief from the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker also reported that telehealth use declined significantly in 2021. The brief compiled data on telehealth use between March 2019 and August 2021, providing researchers with insight into pre- and mid-pandemic patient use. Researchers noted that before the pandemic, telehealth made up less than 1% of outpatient visits. As the pandemic struck, this share rose to 13% but dropped to 8% in 2021.
While there were differences in telehealth use among various age groups, the statistics surrounding the patient’s location, residency, and gender did not carry many variations.
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