Table 2.
Baseline characteristics of medical oncology encounters
| Overall | Prepandemica | Early pandemica | Later pandemica | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of encounters, N (%) | 237 336 (100.00) | 141 969 (59.82) | 27 582 (11.62) | 67 785 (28.56) |
| Number of unique patients, N (%) | 34 666 (100.00) | 27 609 (79.64) | 12 702 (36.64) | 21 961 (63.35) |
| Monthly encounter rate (total patient visits per month) (SD) | 1.47 (0.88) | 1.50 (0.94) | 1.45 (0.82) | 1.42 (0.78) |
| Prediction score per encounter, mean (SD) | 0.12 (0.18) | 0.13 (0.18) | 0.12 (0.17) | 0.11 (0.17) |
| Telemedicine | 0.11 (0.16) | 0.03 (0.03) | 0.12 (0.16) | 0.10 (0.16) |
| In-person | 0.13 (0.18) | 0.13 (0.18) | 0.12 (0.17) | 0.11 (0.17) |
| No preceding labs | 0.02 (0.01) | 0.02 (0.01) | 0.01 (0.01) | 0.02 (0.01) |
| Preceding labs | 0.15 (0.19) | 0.16 (0.19) | 0.14 (0.18) | 0.14 (0.18) |
| Observed 6-month mortality rate (%) | 7.0 | 7.4 | 6.3 | 6.4 |
| Age, mean (SD) | 61.92 (13.86) | 61.91 (13.74) | 61.95 (13.81) | 61.94 (14.12) |
| Age group, N (%) | ||||
| <55 years old | 62 605 (26.38) | 37 305 (26.28) | 7295 (26.45) | 18 005 (26.56) |
| 55–64 years old | 64 806 (27.31) | 39 407 (27.76) | 7419 (26.90) | 17 980 (26.53) |
| 65–74 years old | 72 553 (30.57) | 43 041 (30.32) | 8587 (31.13) | 20 925 (30.87) |
| 75 and over | 37 372 (15.75) | 22 216 (15.65) | 4281 (15.52) | 10 875 (16.04) |
| Marital status, N (%) | ||||
| Married | 155 676 (65.59) | 92 860 (65.41) | 18 306 (66.37) | 44 510 (65.66) |
| Not married | 81 612 (34.39) | 49 087 (34.58) | 9269 (33.61) | 23 256 (34.31) |
| Missing | 48 (0.02) | 22 (0.02) | 7 (0.03) | 19 (0.03) |
| Race, N (%) | ||||
| Non-Hispanic White | 178 794 (75.33) | 107 305 (75.58) | 20 735 (75.18) | 50 754 (74.87) |
| Hispanic Latino/White | 2834 (1.19) | 1690 (1.19) | 328 (1.19) | 816 (1.20) |
| Non-Hispanic Black | 36 438 (15.35) | 21 691 (15.28) | 4179 (15.15) | 10 568 (15.59) |
| Hispanic Latino/Black | 1072 (0.45) | 667 (0.47) | 119 (0.43) | 286 (0.42) |
| Other | 13 262 (5.59) | 7873 (5.55) | 1632 (5.92) | 3757 (5.54) |
| Unknown | 4936 (2.08) | 2743 (1.93) | 589 (2.14) | 1604 (2.37) |
| Insurance, N (%) | ||||
| Commercial | 26 748 (11.27) | 15 767 (11.11) | 3059 (11.09) | 7922 (11.69) |
| Medicaid | 12 589 (5.30) | 7530 (5.30) | 1412 (5.12) | 3647 (5.38) |
| Medicare | 193 417 (81.50) | 115 766 (81.54) | 22 592 (81.91) | 55 059 (81.23) |
| Self-pay | 943 (0.40) | 515 (0.36) | 142 (0.51) | 286 (0.42) |
| Missing | 3639 (1.53) | 2391 (1.68) | 377 (1.37) | 871 (1.28) |
| Visit type, N (%) | ||||
| In-person | 213 943 (90.14) | 141 958 (99.99) | 22 069 (80.01) | 49 916 (73.64) |
| Telehealth | 23 393 (9.86) | 11 (0.01) | 5513 (19.99) | 17 869 (26.36) |
| Elixhauser comorbidity count, mean (SD) | 2.34 (1.89) | 2.36 (1.88) | 2.33 (1.87) | 2.30 (1.93) |
| Encounters with no preceding laboratory values, N (%) | 46 942 (19.8) | 25 119 (17.7) | 5469 (19.8) | 16 354 (24.1) |
| Lab value, mean (SD) | ||||
| Albumin | 4.34 (22.00) | 4.33 (23.07) | 4.31 (20.10) | 4.38 (20.36) |
| Hemoglobin | 12.10 (1.75) | 12.09 (1.76) | 12.13 (1.72) | 12.10 (1.73) |
| Calcium | 9.17 (0.49) | 9.18 (0.51) | 9.16 (0.46) | 9.17 (0.45) |
| White blood cell | 7.21 (9.08) | 7.16 (8.15) | 7.13 (8.35) | 7.34 (11.00) |
| Total bilirubin | 0.60 (0.62) | 0.61 (0.62) | 0.58 (0.52) | 0.61 (0.68) |
| Alkaline phosphatase | 91.27 (77.04) | 92.47 (81.25) | 90.85 (70.47) | 88.93 (70.20) |
a
Prepandemic: January 2019–February 2020. Early pandemic: March–May 2020, representing the early impact of stay-at-home orders and pandemic-related policy changes in hospitals and clinics. Later pandemic: June–December 2020, representing longer-term impact.