Post

New research · Family Medicine
NPJ digital medicine · 1d
Cohort studyNPJ digital medicine · 2026

Association of primary care telehealth with preventable healthcare utilization and care continuity among patients with chronic conditions.

Jiani Yu, Yiyuan Wu, Katerina Andreadis … Jessica S Ancker
Read paper
Family MedicineCohort study

Telehealth use was associated with an 8.3% greater increase in care continuity.

Association of primary care telehealth with preventable healthcare utilization and care continuity among patients with chronic conditions.

Jiani Yu et al. · NPJ digital medicine · 2026
Background

Telehealth may help maintain access to care for individuals with chronic conditions, particularly during periods of disruption.

Purpose

This study examined the association between telehealth use and health care utilization, continuity, and quality in primary care.

8.3%
Results
high telehealth use led to a larger rise in consistent care
n = 383,570 Medicare fee-for-service
More results

We used a difference-in-differences design (2019-2021) to compare outcomes for patients attributed to practices with high versus low telehealth uptake before and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic across three clinical research networks.

More results

Among 383,570 Medicare fee-for-service patient-quarters with chronic conditions, telehealth use was not associated with changes in preventable emergency department visits or hospitalizations.

“
Conclusion

These findings suggest that telehealth may support continuity of care without increasing acute care utilization, although its implications for chronic disease management quality remain uncertain.

Read paper
0 comments

No comments yet. Be the first.

Related papers

LatestFoundational
Cross-sectional
23%
this is the proportion of GP clinics unable to provide cervical screening for new patients
Meta-analysis
56%
56% of the reviewed nutrition interventions in primary care were deemed cost-effective.
Cross-sectional
aOR 0.34
Prior antibiotic resistance training was linked to lower overall antibiotic prescribing
Guideline
23
total recommendations in the new guideline for managing long-term kidney disease
Study
61 indicators
General practitioners agreed on 61 measures to guide care for patients with multiple health conditions
Observational
86.5%
most patients had fluid in their lungs, not yet causing symptoms
Guideline
21 evidence-based recommendations
pieces of advice for managing asthma, supported by research
AI / Informatics
adjusted odds ratio 0.77
AI assistance did not significantly lower the odds of treatment failure