Table 2. Ambulatory Encounters and Percentage of Telehealth Encounters During July to December 2019 and 2020.
| Patient-level characteristic | Patients, No. (%) | 2019 Mean (SD) No. of encounters per persona | 2020 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean (SD) No. of encounters per persona | Mean (SD) No. of encounters per person for those with ≥1 encounter (% telehealth) | |||
| Total | 40 739 915 | 2.46 (5.00) | 2.45 (5.24) | 4.14 (16.80) |
| Age in 2019, y | ||||
| 0-17 | 9 102 907 (22.3) | 2.23 (6.01) | 1.90 (6.25) | 3.7 (19.22) |
| 18-34 | 9 755 452 (24.0) | 1.92 (4.19) | 2.13 (4.62) | 3.99 (25.27) |
| 35-49 | 10 069 444 (24.7) | 2.42 (4.57) | 2.51 (4.83) | 4.17 (19.04) |
| ≥50 | 11 812 112 (29.0) | 3.11 (5.04) | 3.08 (5.14) | 4.48 (12.57) |
| Sex | ||||
| Female | 20 480 768 (50.3) | 2.83 (5.10) | 2.84 (5.40) | 4.44 (19.48) |
| Male | 20 259 147 (49.7) | 2.09 (4.87) | 2.05 (5.05) | 3.78 (15.96) |
| Elixhauser Comorbidity Index | ||||
| 0 | 38 294 865 (94.0) | 2.25 (4.79) | 2.30 (5.11) | 4.01 (18.27) |
| 1 | 2 354 975 (5.8) | 5.57 (6.48) | 4.67 (6.41) | 5.4 (15.84) |
| 2 | 69 213 (0.2) | 10.43 (9.86) | 7.08 (8.83) | 7.86 (19.59) |
| ≥3 | 20 862 (0.05) | 13.04 (10.83) | 8.71 (9.90) | 9.42 (18.69) |
| US Census region of residence | ||||
| Midwest | 10 056 251 (24.7) | 2.49 (5.61) | 2.50 (5.89) | 4.35 (16.30) |
| Northeast | 7 036 675 (17.23) | 2.60 (5.01) | 2.62 (5.39) | 4.24 (25.44) |
| South | 16 771 293 (41.2) | 2.42 (4.57) | 2.46 (4.77) | 3.93 (13.99) |
| West | 6 875 696 (16.9) | 2.37 (5.05) | 2.17 (5.18) | 4.32 (22.84) |
| Urban or rural status of residence | ||||
| Rural | 6 308 636 (15.5) | 2.13 (3.89) | 2.12 (4.04) | 3.6 (10.61) |
| Urban | 34 431 279 (84.5) | 2.52 (5.18) | 2.51 (5.43) | 4.24 (19.16) |
| COVID-19 hotspot of residence | ||||
| No | 18 676 928 (45.8) | 2.63 (5.51) | 2.63 (5.85) | 4.44 (22.08) |
| Yes | 22 062 987 (54.2) | 2.32 (4.52) | 2.29 (4.66) | 3.89 (14.07) |
| Area Deprivation Index (by quartile) | ||||
| 1 (Low deprivation) | 16 869 885 (41.4) | 2.74 (5.68) | 2.70 (5.98) | 4.5 (21.85) |
| 2 | 9 163 847 (22.5) | 2.35 (4.65) | 2.33 (4.86) | 3.97 (15.91) |
| 3 | 8 582 511 (21.1) | 2.27 (4.40) | 2.27 (4.59) | 3.86 (14.11) |
| 4 (High deprivation) | 6 123 672 (15.0) | 2.12 (4.20) | 2.18 (4.40) | 3.78 (13.95) |
| No. of households with internet access per 1000 at zip code level | ||||
| 0-499 | 164 834 (0.4) | 1.99 (3.65) | 2.05 (3.79) | 3.54 (2.12/8.13b) |
| 500-1000 | 40 575 081 (99.6) | 2.46 (5.01) | 2.45 (5.25) | 4.14 (1.11/13.38b) |
| Type of insurance plan in 2019 | ||||
| High deductible | 10 623 412 (26.1) | 2.14 (4.30) | 2.15 (4.46) | 3.72 (15.09) |
| HMO | 2 435 534 (6.0) | 2.43 (4.68) | 2.14 (4.99) | 4.37 (28.90) |
| Standard PPO | 27 680 969 (68.0) | 2.59 (5.27) | 2.59 (5.53) | 4.28 (18.15) |
Abbreviations: HMO, health maintenance organization; PPO, preferred provider organization.
a
The entire sample (of users and nonusers) continuously enrolled in commercial insurance plans from July 1, 2019, through December 31, 2020. These unadjusted rates are reported as the number of telehealth-eligible ambulatory encounters per enrollee and the percentage of these encounters that took place via telehealth during the study period (July to December). All rows are calculated at the person level.
b
Telephone/video encounters.