Variation in telehealth use for endocrine care: Patterns and predictors under the “new normal”

• Published in: Journal of telemedicine and telecare 2023-10, p.1357633X231203144-1357633X231203144
• Main Authors: Vimalananda, Varsha G, Arao, Kevin, Qian, Shirley, Leibowitz, Alison, Zupa, Margaret F, Benzer, Justin, Fincke, B Graeme, Zocchi, Mark, Meterko, Mark, Berlowitz, Dan, Sitter, Kailyn E, Wormwood, Jolie B
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1357-633X; 1758-1109
• DOI: 10.1177/1357633X231203144

INTRODUCTIONUse of telehealth for outpatient endocrine care remains common since onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, though the context for its use has matured. We aimed to describe the variation in telehealth use for outpatient endocrine visits under these "new normal" conditions and examine the patient, clinician-, and organization-level factors predicting use. METHODSRetrospective cross-sectional study using data from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Corporate Data Warehouse on 167,017 endocrine visits conducted between 3/9/21 and 3/8/22. We used mixed effects logistic regression models to examine 1) use of telehealth vs. in-person care among all visits and 2) use of telephone vs. video among the subsample of telehealth visits. RESULTSVisits were in person (58%), by telephone (29%), or by video (13%). Unique variability in telehealth use at each level of the analysis was 56% patient visit, 24% clinician, 18% facility. The strongest predictors were visit type (first vs. follow up) and clinician and facility characteristics. Among telehealth visits, unique variability in telephone (vs. video) use at each level was 44% patient visit, 24% clinician, 26% facility. The strongest predictors of telephone vs. video were visit type, patient age, and percent of the facility's population that was rural. CONCLUSIONSWe found wide variation in use of telehealth for endocrinology under the "new normal". Future research should examine clinician and facility factors driving variation, as many may be amenable to influence by clinical leaders and leveraged to enhance the availability of telehealth for all clinically appropriate patients.