The "new" new normal: changes in telemedicine utilization since COVID-19

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Digital Health
• Healthcare Delivery Science

Background:

• Telemedicine adoption accelerated significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Understanding evolving telemedicine utilization patterns is crucial for healthcare planning.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze telemedicine utilization trends across clinical specialties.
• To identify shifts in visit complexity within telemedicine services.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cross-sectional study of 1.9 million telemedicine video visits (2020-2023).
• Analysis of electronic health record data from a large academic health care system.
• Descriptive statistics and comparative analysis of utilization rates and visit complexity.

Main Results:

• Telemedicine use peaked during the pandemic and subsequently stabilized.
• Behavioral health and psychiatry demonstrated continued growth in telemedicine visits.
• Non-primary care specialties saw an increase in moderate- and high-complexity telemedicine visits.

Conclusions:

• Telemedicine utilization is dynamic, with increasing complexity in non-primary care settings.
• Strategic resource allocation is necessary to manage complex telemedicine cases in non-primary care.
• Findings inform future healthcare delivery models integrating telemedicine.