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TOPLINE
The use of telemedicine for problem-based visits among children surged during the pandemic, later declining but remaining regularly used — especially for endocrine and behavioral health.
METHODOLOGY
- Researchers conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study to describe the use of telemedicine for more than 19 million problem‑based pediatric visits at more than 1000 family medicine and other practices between 2019 and 2024.
- All sites had at least 100 annual visits involving children and teens younger than 18 years.
TAKEAWAY
- Across the study period, 6% of problem-based visits were conducted using telemedicine.
- Telemedicine accounted for less than 1% of visits in 2019, peaked at 55% in April 2020, and declined to 6% by 2024.
- In 2024, telemedicine represented about one fifth of visits for endocrine health, 15% of visits for behavioral health, and 3% of visits for respiratory issues.
- From January 2019 to April 2023, each additional telemedicine visit was associated with no significant net change in the number of visits. But from May 2023 to December 2024, each additional telemedicine visit was associated with an increase of about two visits.
IN PRACTICE
“[The] findings highlight the continued importance of TM [telemedicine] as a tool within primary care and the value of investigating the impact of TM use on health outcomes, including access to care,” the authors of the study wrote.
SOURCE
The study was led by Alexander G. Fiks, MD, MSCE, of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in Philadelphia. It was published online on August 5 in Pediatrics.
LIMITATIONS
Diagnostic coding across sites may have influenced the results.
DISCLOSURES
The study received support from the National Institutes of Health, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Possibilities Project, and the American Academy of Pediatrics, among others. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.
