For the second straight month, national telehealth utilization, measured as a percentage of all medical claim lines, grew in December 2021, according to FAIR Health’s Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker.
For the second straight month, national telehealth utilization, measured as a percentage of all medical claim lines, grew in December 2021, according to FAIR Health’s Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker. Telehealth utilization increased nationally 11.4%, from 4.4% of all medical claim lines in November to 4.9% in December (FIGURE 1). Telehealth utilization also increased in December in every US census region (Midwest, Northeast, South and West), with the greatest increase (18.2%) in the South. The data represent the privately insured population, including Medicare Advantage and excluding Medicare fee-for-service and Medicaid.
FIGURE 1
COVID-19 and Changes in Diagnosis Rankings
The December increases in telehealth utilization coincided with the nationwide surge of COVID-19 cases fueled by the highly transmissible Omicron variant. FAIR Health data show that COVID-19, which in November had been among the top 5 telehealth diagnoses nationally and in the Midwest and Northeast, continued to hold that status in December while also joining the top 5 telehealth diagnoses in the South and West. Nationally, from November to December, COVID-19 rose from fifth place to third place among telehealth diagnoses; in the Northeast, the epicenter of December’s Omicron surge, COVID-19 rose from fifth place to second place.
In December, other diagnoses changed in their percentage share of telehealth claim lines, their rankings among telehealth diagnoses, or both. Mental health conditions remained the number one diagnosis in the nation and all regions, but everywhere fell in percentage share. In the South, mental health conditions fell to less than 50% of telehealth claim lines (43.4%), the only region where that was the case (FIGURE 2). Acute respiratory diseases and infections rose everywhere in percentage share of telehealth claim lines. Hypertension joined the top 5 telehealth diagnoses in the South and joint/soft tissue diseases and issues joined that list in the Northeast.
FIGURE 2
Changes in Procedure Code Rankings
In December, the procedure code for 60-minute psychotherapy, CPT® 90837, remained in first place among telehealth procedure codes nationally and in all regions but the South, where it fell from first to third place. Its percentage age share, however, fell nationally and regionally. This was part of a general trend in December toward lower utilization of psychiatric procedure codes and higher utilization of evaluation and management (E&M) codes. For example, in the Midwest, CPT 99212, an E&M code (10-19-minute established patient outpatient visit), supplanted CPT 90833, a psychiatric code (30-minute psychotherapy performed with E&M visit), in fifth place among telehealth procedure codes. In addition, in the national rankings, CPT 99441, a telehealth audio visit (5-10-minute physician telephone patient service) supplanted CPT 90833 in fifth place.
About the Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker
Launched in May 2020 as a free service, the Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker uses FAIR Health data to track how telehealth is evolving from month to month. An interactive map of the four US census regions allows the user to view an infographic on telehealth in a specific month in the nation as a whole or in individual regions. Each infographic shows month-to-month changes in volume of telehealth claim lines, top 5 telehealth procedure codes and top five telehealth diagnoses (or diagnostic categories), along with that month’s top five granular diagnoses within the most common diagnostic category.
As the COVID-19 pandemic and telehealth utilization continue to evolve, FAIR Health’s Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker serves as a window into that evolution. This is one of the many ways we pursue our healthcare transparency mission.
For the Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker, click here.
Standard Criteria for Loss of Ambulation Needed in DMD
April 19th 2024A recent study suggests the differences between ambulation definitions for patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) can impact the identification of ambulant vs nonambulant individuals, and standard criteria across settings are needed.
Read More
Navigating Health Literacy, Social Determinants, and Discrimination in National Health Plans
February 13th 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with the authors of a study published in the February 2024 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® about their findings on how health plans can screen for health literacy, social determinants of health, and perceived health care discrimination.
Listen
An Overview of Health Care and Pharmaceutical Trends, 2023-2024
April 19th 2024Douglas M. Long, BA, MBA, was featured as the keynote speaker on the closing day of The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy 2024 annual meeting, with a session dedicated to surveying the health care and pharmaceutical trends of the last year.
Read More
Drs Raymond Thertulien, Joseph Mikhael on Racial Disparities in Multiple Myeloma Care Access
December 28th 2023In the wake of the 2023 American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition, Raymond Thertulien, MD, PhD, of Novant Health, and Joseph Mikhael, MD, MEd, FRCPC, FACP, chief medical officer of the International Myeloma Foundation, discussed health equity research highlights from the meeting and drivers of racial disparities in multiple myeloma outcomes.
Listen
Real-World Study Reveals Key Insights Into DLBCL Treatment Patterns, Outcomes
April 18th 2024A recent study offers valuable insights into the characteristics, treatment patterns, and outcomes of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) in patients across different lines of therapy, providing a look into the landscape of DLBCL management.
Read More