Increased Virtual Visits to Physicians During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Estimated Impact on Physician Compensation: The Case of Lung and Colorectal Cancers, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases, and Heart Failure in Alberta, Canada.
Telemed J E Health
; 30(7): e2024-e2039, 2024 Jun.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38656126
ABSTRACT
Introduction:
The COVID-19 pandemic started in Alberta in March 2020 and significantly increased telehealth service use and provision reducing the risk of virus transmission. We examined the change in the number and proportion of virtual visits by physician specialty and condition (chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases [COPD], heart failure [HF], colorectal and lung cancers), as well as associated changes in physician compensation.Methods:
A population-based design was used to analyze all processed physician claims comparing the number and proportion of virtual visits and associated physician billings relative to in-person between pre- (2019/2020) and intra-pandemic (2020/2021). Physician compensations were the claim amounts paid by the health insurance.Results:
Pre-pandemic (intra-), there were 8,981 (8,897) lung cancer, 9,245 (9,029) colorectal, 37,558 (36,292) HF, and 68,270 (52,308) COPD patients. Each patient had totally 2.3-4.7 (of which 0.4-0.6% were virtual) general practitioner (GP) visits and 0.9-2.3 (0.2-0.7% were virtual) specialist visits per year pre-pandemic. The average number and proportion of per-patient virtual visits to GPs and specialists grew significantly pre- to intra-pandemic by 2,138-4,567%, and 2,201-7,104%, respectively. Given the lower fees of virtual compared with in-person visits, the reduction in physician compensation associated with the increased use of virtual care was estimated at $3.85 million, with $2.44 million attributed to specialist and $1.41 million to GP.Discussion:
Utilization of telehealth increased significantly, while the physician billings per patient and physician compensation declined early in the pandemic in Alberta for the four chronic diseases considered. This study forms the basis for future study in understanding the impact of virtual care, now part of the fabric of health care delivery, on quality of care and patient safety, overall health service utilization (such as diagnostic imaging and other investigations), as well as economic impacts to patients, health care systems, and society.Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Neoplasias Colorrectales
/
Telemedicina
/
Enfermedad Pulmonar Obstructiva Crónica
/
COVID-19
/
Insuficiencia Cardíaca
Límite:
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
País/Región como asunto:
America do norte
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Telemed J E Health
Asunto de la revista:
INFORMATICA MEDICA
/
SERVICOS DE SAUDE
Año:
2024
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Canadá