Primary care visits conducted via telemedicine do not lead to higher healthcare utilization, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open. Mary Reed, DrPH, and colleagues assessed whether treatment differs between primary care telemedicine and in-person visits and how often patients require in-person follow-up. The analysis included more than 1.1 million patients who scheduled nearly 2.2 million primary care appointments from January 2016 to May 2018. Medication was prescribed in 38.6% of video visits, 34.7% of telephone visits, and 51.9% of office visits, and laboratory tests or imaging were ordered in 29.2% of video visits, 27.3% of telephone visits, and 59.3% of clinic visits. Follow-up visits within 7 days of the index visit occurred after 25.4% of video visits, 26.0% of telephone visits, and 24.5% of office visits. There were no statistically significant differences in ED visits or rates of hospitalizations by index visit type. “In contrast to prior studies… we did not find evidence of over-ordering or over-prescribing among patients using telemedicine to visit their own primary care doctors,” the authors said in a statement.
