Telehealth Practice Among Health Centers During the COVID-19 Pandemic - United States, July 11-17, 2020

• Published in: MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report Vol. 69; no. 50; pp. 1902 - 1905
• Main Authors: Demeke, Hanna B, Pao, Leah Zilversmit, Clark, Hollie, Romero, Lisa, Neri, Antonio, Shah, Rhea, McDow, Kendra B, Tindall, Erica, Iqbal, Naureen J, Hatfield-Timajchy, Kendra, Bolton, Joshua, Le, Xuan, Hair, Brionna, Campbell, Stephanie, Bui, Cuong, Sandhu, Paramjit, Nwaise, Isaac, Armstrong, Paige A, Rose, Michelle A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States U.S. Center for Disease Control 18-12-2020; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Subjects: Continuity of care; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 diagnostic tests; Disease transmission; Full Report; Health care access; Health care facilities; Health care policy; Health Care Surveys; Health facilities; Health Facilities - statistics & numerical data; Health Services Accessibility; Humans; Pandemics; Patients; Personal protective equipment; Primary care; Provisions; Public health; Respiratory diseases; Rural areas; Rural health care; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Telemedicine; Telemedicine - organization & administration; Telemedicine - statistics & numerical data; United States - epidemiology; Urban areas; Viral diseases; Workforce planning; United States; United States > US
• ISSN: 0149-2195; 1545-861X
• DOI: 10.15585/MMWR.MM6950A4

Early in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, in-person ambulatory health care visits declined by 60% across the United States, while telehealth* visits increased, accounting for up to 30% of total care provided in some locations (1,2). In March 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released updated regulations and guidance changing telehealth provisions during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, including the elimination of geographic barriers and enhanced reimbursement for telehealth services
(3-6). The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) administers a voluntary weekly Health Center COVID-19 Survey
to track health centers' COVID-19 testing capacity and the impact of COVID-19 on operations, patients, and staff. CDC and HRSA analyzed data from the weekly COVID-19 survey completed by 1,009 HRSA-funded health centers (health centers
) for the week of July 11-17, 2020, to describe telehealth service use in the United States by U.S. Census region,** urbanicity,
staffing capacity, change in visit volume, and personal protective equipment (PPE) supply. Among the 1,009 health center respondents, 963 (95.4%) reported providing telehealth services. Health centers in urban areas were more likely to provide >30% of health care visits virtually (i.e., via telehealth) than were health centers in rural areas. Telehealth is a promising approach to promoting access to care and can facilitate public health mitigation strategies and help prevent transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory illnesses, while supporting continuity of care. Although CMS's change of its telehealth provisions enabled health centers to expand telehealth by aligning guidance and leveraging federal resources, sustaining expanded use of telehealth services might require additional policies and resources.