Dramatically fewer US patients sought in-person routine preventive or elective care during the first 2 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, a decrease only partially offset by a rise in the use of telemedicine, according to a study published today in JAMA Network Open.Led by researchers at RAND Corp., the study used health insurance claims data to evaluate the use of non–COVID-19–related health services among 6.8 million US patients with employer-sponsored insurance in March and April relative to the same periods in 2018 and 2019.
The researchers also assessed whether changes in use differed by patient race or income. Patient demographics and geographic distributions were comparable in all 3 years.In March and April, ambulatory visits fell 25%