Abstract 30: Trends Of Telehealth Utilization Among Cardiovascular Disease Patients Before And During The Covid-19 Pandemic And Cost Analysis

Objectives: To determine the costs and trends of telehealth utilization before and during the COVID-19 pandemic for patients with cardiovascular diseases (CVD).

Methods: We calculated the proportions of patients with CVD who used telehealth before (January 2019-February 2020) and during (March 2020-April 2021) the pandemic using MarketScan Commercial Claims and Encounters. We compared the trends of telehealth utilization among CVD patients by sex, age, claim type, payment plan, and rural/urban status. We calculated mean, SD, median, and IQR of total and average telehealth costs.

Results: The results show that telehealth utilization spiked in March 2020 and further rapidly increased and peaked in April 2020. Telehealth utilization increased from 0.021% in March 2019 to 6.7% in March 2020 and from 0.024% in April 2019 to 39.8% in April 2020. After peaking in April 2020, telehealth utilization rapidly fell in May-June 2020 and then gradually decreased before rebounding in October-December 2020. It resumed the decline through April 2021 remained much higher than the prepandemic level. Telehealth utilization was higher during the pandemic for females than males; for younger age groups (aged 18-44 or 45-64) than older age group (aged 65+); for commercial claims than Medicare supplemental insurance; for capitated insurance plans than non-capitated insurance plans; and for patients in urban areas than rural areas. From March 2020-February 2021, the mean (SD) telehealth cost per visit was $115.7 (66) (median [IQR], $104.8 [$75.8-$139.4]), with patient out-of-pocket cost $25.5 (42.8) (median [IQR], $10 [$0-$30]), insurance cost $90.4 (71.0) (median [IQR], $83 [$45.3-$121.3]), and the mean (SD) number of telehealth utilizations per patient was 1.67 (1.8) (median [IQR], 1 [1-2]).

Conclusions: Policymakers, health care practitioners, and insurance companies should be aware of trends and costs of telehealth utilization among patients with CVD. Our results show that telehealth would facilitate better management of CVD. Our results may inform future policies and practices to meet the increased demand for telehealth.