Patient experience after modifying visit delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Epidemiology
• Health Informatics

Background:

• The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic necessitated rapid healthcare system transformations.
• Adapting to public health guidance involved reorganizing care delivery from in-person to virtual platforms.
• Understanding the impact of these changes on medical visits and patient experience is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze real-time changes in medical visits (MVs) and visit modes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• To assess patient-reported visit experience following the rapid reorganization of care.
• To evaluate the transition from office-based to virtual care platforms.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional time-series analysis was conducted from September 2019 to June 2020.
• Data included weekly MVs, visit modes (office-based, telephone, video), and patient-reported experience.
• A 38-week time-series analysis with interruption dates in March and May 2020 was performed.

Main Results:

• Following the initial pandemic response, there was a decrease in overall MVs, a sharp decline in office-based visits, and an increase in telephone and video visits.
• After a subsequent interruption, overall MVs increased, with a rise in video and office-based visits and a decline in video visits.
• Post-second interruption, patient-reported experience improved for overall, telephone, and video visits, with video visits showing the highest satisfaction for meeting needs.

Conclusions:

• The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated swift organizational changes in healthcare delivery.
• The rapid shift to virtual care platforms was associated with improved patient-reported visit experience.
• Optimizing patient experience requires adaptable and responsive healthcare systems.