JAMA Network Open: Primary Care Practice Telehealth Use and Low-Value Care Services

JAMA Network Open: Primary Care Practice Telehealth Use and Low-Value Care Services

In this cohort study of Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries who received care from primary care practices in Michigan, some low-value care services (i.e., cervical cancer screening among women older than 65 years and low-value thyroid testing) were lower among practices with high telehealth use, and there was no association between practice-level telehealth use in rates of most other low-value care services not delivered in the office. As telehealth continues to be an important part of care delivery, evaluating how it may encourage or discourage low-value care services is critical to understanding its impact on quality of care. The findings suggest the potential for telehealth to help reduce office-based low-value care and could reassure policymakers concerned about telehealth encouraging unnecessary or wasteful care due to added convenience.