Primary Care and Telehealth Spending Differed Across Primary Care Specialties During COVID-19 Stay-at-Home Order

Excerpt

The COVID-19 outbreak has disproportionately affected people with comorbid conditions and those in marginalized racial and ethnic groups.^1,2 It has also prompted social distancing measures that disrupted care for patients through facility closures, restricted capacity, and delays in non-urgent care.³ Concerns about COVID-19 exposure in clinical settings may have also led patients to avoid necessary care.⁴ While early research has demonstrated a decline in ambulatory care visits along with a rapid uptick in telehealth service use,^5,6 the impact of social distancing measures on primary care (PC) services among vulnerable populations, such as Medicaid enrollees and those receiving care in federally qualified health centers (FQHC), is unknown. On March 9, 2020, Rhode Island declared a state of emergency due to COVID-19, and on March 30 implemented a shelter-in-place order (the ORDER). We assessed the association of the ORDER with outpatient primary care and telehealth spending among Medicaid enrollees. …