Rates of Primary Care and Integrated Mental Health Telemedicine Visits Between Rural and Urban Veterans Affairs Beneficiaries Before and After the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

ABSTRACT:

Importance

Telemedicine can increase access to care, but uptake has been low among people living in rural areas. The Veterans Health Administration initially encouraged telemedicine uptake in rural areas, but telemedicine expansion efforts have broadened since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective

To examine changes over time in rural-urban differences in telemedicine use for primary care and for mental health integration services among Veterans Affairs (VA) beneficiaries.

Design, setting, and participants

This cohort study examined 63.5 million primary care and 3.6 million mental health integration visits across 138 VA health care systems nationally from March 16, 2019, to December 15, 2021. Statistical analysis took place from December 2021 to January 2023.

Exposures<

SUBMITTER: Leung LB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9993180 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature