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?:abstract
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BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has increased use of and demand for telehealth services OBJECTIVE: We describe utilization of a large telehealth service before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and explore how the number of visits, reasons for visits, and patients served changed over time METHODS: We reported data in percentage change from baseline over two time periods: February-June 2019 and February-June 2020 using four categories of visits: respiratory illness, unscheduled behavioral health, scheduled behavioral health, and chronic illness RESULTS: In 2020, total visit volume grew sharply from March through April 6, 2020 (59% above baseline) and then declined through the week of June 1 (15% above baseline) Visits for respiratory illnesses increased through the week of March 23 (30% above baseline) and then steadily declined through the week of June 1 (-65% below baseline) There were larger relative increases in unscheduled behavioral health and chronic illness visits through April (109% and 131% above baseline respectively) before declining through the week of June 1 (69% and 37% above baseline) Increases in visit volume among rural residents was slightly higher than urban residents (peak of 64% vs 58% above baseline) CONCLUSIONS: While this telehealth service experienced a substantial rise in visits during the COVID-19 pandemic, the growth was surprisingly not fueled by COVID-19 concerns, but rather by visits for behavioral health and chronic illness treatment Telehealth services may play a role as a \'safety valve\' for patients who have difficulty accessing care in a public health emergency
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