Increased use of telehealth among cardiac patients as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic has produced some interesting results.
According to a study published by JAMA Open Network,
…[cardiology] patients using COVID-era remote visits were more likely to be Asian, Black, or Hispanic individuals, have private insurance, and have cardiovascular comorbidities. Compared with pre-COVID in-person visits, clinicians during COVID-era video and telephone visits had a significantly lower odds of ordering any medication as well as most tests.
The use of telehealth has increased significantly since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and the introduction of temporary Medicare regulations that encourage the use of telehealth as an alternative to visits to doctors’ offices.
Learn more about the study, how it was conducted, its limits, and the implications of its findings in the JAMA Open Network study “Patient Use and Clinical Practice Patterns of Remote Cardiology Clinic Visits in the Era of COVID-19.”