Telehealth did not lead to more follow-up care, study finds. Here’s why that matters

Advisory Board: Telehealth did not lead to more follow-up care, study finds. Here’s why that matters

Telehealth patients did not require more follow-up care than in-person patients according to a new study published in JAMA Network Open, suggesting these findings may help shape telehealth policies moving forward. Telehealth patients with chronic conditions, such as hypertension or heart failure, were less likely to require follow-up care than in-person patients. While this study was of commercially insured patients, this is pertinent for Medicare beneficiaries given around 30 percent of traditional Medicare beneficiaries have six or more chronic conditions. Krista Drobac, executive director of the Alliance for Connected Care, highlighted that this finding could be important for telehealth’s impact on Medicare beneficiaries as a result.