JAMA Network Open: Telemedicine Visits in US Skilled Nursing Facilities

JAMA Network Open: Telemedicine Visits in US Skilled Nursing Facilities

Skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) in the United States rapidly adopted telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was linked to improved access to psychiatry visits. Researchers found that, compared with 2018-2019, SNFs with high telehealth use in 2020-2021 provided about 20.2 percent more psychiatry visits per resident year than low-use SNFs. High-telehealth use SNFs also provided approximately 7.2 percent more outpatient visits for residents with limited mobility. Further, SNFs with high telehealth use had fewer routine visits on weekends and no difference in new outpatient visits with specialist physicians compared with low-telehealth use SNFs. Researchers concluded that telemedicine likely helped maintain established patient-clinician connections and expanded access to potential new clinicians, especially amid the long-standing decline in psychiatrist numbers. For additional coverage, see mHealth Intelligence.