Telehealth utilization increased nationally in June
Telehealth for mental health conditions, which account for half of telehealth claims, fell in most areas of the country.
Photo: Kilito Chan/Getty Images
In June, telehealth utilization increased nationally and in the West, Northeast and South, but decreased in the Midwest, according to FAIR Health's Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker.
Nationally, telehealth claim lines rose from 4.82% of medical claim lines in May to 4.89% in June, an increase of 1.5%.
In the West, the telehealth share of medical claim lines increased 1.4%; in the Northeast, it rose 0.8%; and in the South, it rose 0.3%. In the Midwest, the telehealth share of medical claim lines fell 1.7%.
The data represents the commercially insured population, excluding Medicare fee-for-service, Medicare Advantage and Medicaid.
WHAT'S THE IMPACT
Nationally and in the Northeast, South and West, from May to June, mental health conditions fell as a percentage of telehealth claim lines. The largest decrease was in the Northeast, where it fell from 77.2% to 76%. In the Midwest, however, the percent of telehealth claim lines stayed the same (72.6%). Mental health conditions remained the top-ranking diagnostic category nationally and in every region, accounting for over 50% of telehealth claim lines everywhere.
Nationally, endocrine and metabolic disorders rose to second position among diagnostic categories in June 2024 from third position in May, while acute respiratory diseases and infections fell to third position from second.
Also in that timeframe, family practice supplanted psychiatry to become the second most common in the rankings of the top five telehealth provider specialties. In the Midwest, nurse practitioner rose from fourth to third position, while psychiatric nurse fell from third to fourth. The rankings of the top five telehealth provider specialties remained unchanged in the Northeast, South and West. Social worker remained in the first position nationally and in all regions.
In terms of mental health diagnoses, there was no change in the rankings of the top five mental health diagnoses from May to June. Nationally and in every region, the top five mental health diagnoses in both months were generalized anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, adjustment disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Together, generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder accounted for more than 50% of mental health telehealth claim lines nationally and in every region in both months.
Meanwhile, the 31-40 age group accounted for the largest share of telehealth claim lines nationally and in all regions, while the 19-30 age group accounted for the second largest share everywhere. In both months, the 19-30 and 31-40 age groups each accounted for between 20% and 30% of telehealth claim lines nationally and in every region.
THE LARGER TREND
A stark generation gap has emerged between millennials and baby boomers when it comes to telehealth, with younger patients driving the highest overall satisfaction scores and older patients experiencing significantly lower levels of satisfaction, according to the J.D. Power 2023 U.S. Telehealth Satisfaction Study, published last fall.
The satisfaction gap is widest in digital channels and appointment scheduling, suggesting that older telehealth users are having problems using telehealth providers' digital interfaces.
Also last fall, Epic Research determined that despite being able to be reimbursed for telehealth services at the higher facility rate for another year, providers are frequently billing for these virtual visits at a lower level-of-service code, a trend that holds true for both primary and specialty care. Telehealth visits are more frequently coded with a lower level-of-service billing code than in-person office visits of the same specialty.
Jeff Lagasse is editor of Healthcare Finance News.
Email: jlagasse@himss.org
Healthcare Finance News is a HIMSS Media publication.
