Telehealth Utilization Patterns Among Patients with Chronic Conditions Across Age, Gender, Geography, and Insurance...

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Informatics
• Public Health
• Chronic Disease Management

Background:

• Telehealth utilization varies across chronic conditions like asthma, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia.
• Previous studies have not comprehensively evaluated telehealth patterns across these conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Understanding telehealth adoption across demographic and insurance dimensions is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate telehealth utilization patterns in patients with asthma, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia.
• To analyze telehealth trends across age, gender, geography, and insurance during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• To compare telehealth use pre-pandemic, during the pandemic, and post-pandemic.

Main Methods:

• Utilized Arkansas All-Payer Claims Database (APCD) data from 2017-2022.
• Identified patients aged 18-64 with asthma, diabetes, or hyperlipidemia and commercial or Medicaid insurance.
• Analyzed telehealth visit frequency by quarter, stratified by demographics and insurance, using linear regression.

Main Results:

• Telehealth use was minimal pre-pandemic, increasing sharply during 2020 (12.7-15.1 pp increase).
• Post-pandemic (2020-2022), females, urban residents, and younger patients showed higher telehealth utilization.
• While utilization dipped post-2020, it remained significantly above pre-pandemic levels, especially for asthma patients.

Conclusions:

• Telehealth adoption disparities are influenced by patient demographics, structural, and clinical factors.
• Findings highlight the need for equitable and sustained telehealth access across diverse patient groups.
• Future efforts should focus on supporting clinically appropriate and even telehealth access.