Outpatient Care Among Users and Nonusers of Direct-to-Patient Telehealth – Observational Study

JMIR Publications: Outpatient Care Among Users and Nonusers of Direct-to-Patient Telehealth – Observational Study

Expansion of telehealth insurance coverage is hampered by concerns that such coverage may encourage excessive use and spending. This paper examined whether users of telehealth services rely more on other forms of outpatient care than nonusers, and to estimate the differences in payment rates. The findings suggest that telehealth visits may substitute rather than add to in-person care for some types of care and may be an as efficient and less costly alternative.