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Kalwani NM, Osmanlliu E, Parameswaran V, Qureshi L, Dash R, Heidenreich PA, Scheinker D, Rodriguez F. Changes in telemedicine use and ambulatory visit volumes at a multispecialty cardiovascular center during the COVID-19 pandemic. J Telemed Telecare 2024; 30:543-548. [PMID: 35108126 PMCID: PMC8814611 DOI: 10.1177/1357633x211073428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2021] [Accepted: 12/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, cardiology clinics rapidly implemented telemedicine to maintain access to care. Little is known about subsequent trends in telemedicine use and visit volumes across cardiology subspecialties. We conducted a retrospective cohort study including all patients with ambulatory visits at a multispecialty cardiovascular center in Northern California from March 2019 to February 2020 (pre-COVID) and March 2020 to February 2021 (COVID). Telemedicine use increased from 3.5% of visits (1200/33,976) during the pre-COVID period to 63.0% (21,251/33,706) during the COVID period. Visit volumes were below pre-COVID levels from March to May 2020 but exceeded pre-COVID levels after June 2020, including when local COVID-19 cases peaked. Telemedicine use was above 75% of visits in all cardiology subspecialties in April 2020 and stabilized at rates ranging from over 95% in electrophysiology to under 25% in heart transplant and vascular medicine. From June 2020 to February 2021, subspecialties delivering a greater percentage of visits through telemedicine experienced larger increases in new patient visits (r = 0.81, p = 0.029). Telemedicine can be used to deliver a significant proportion of outpatient cardiovascular care though utilization varies across subspecialties. Higher rates of telemedicine adoption may increase access to care in cardiology clinics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neil M Kalwani
- Division of Cardiovascular Medicine and the Cardiovascular Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
- Department of Health Policy, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Esli Osmanlliu
- Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, McGill University, Montréal, Canada
| | - Vijaya Parameswaran
- Division of Cardiovascular Medicine and the Cardiovascular Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Lubna Qureshi
- Digital Health Care Integration, Stanford Health Care, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Rajesh Dash
- Division of Cardiovascular Medicine and the Cardiovascular Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Paul A Heidenreich
- Division of Cardiovascular Medicine and the Cardiovascular Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
- VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA, USA
| | - David Scheinker
- Department of Management Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Clinical Excellence Research Center, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Fatima Rodriguez
- Division of Cardiovascular Medicine and the Cardiovascular Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
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