As COVID-19 surged over the winter holidays, outpatient care visits in the United States remained relatively stable, new data show. But office visits were still 5 percent to 6 percent lower than in previous winters — a time when visit volumes typically rise.
An end-of-year snapshot from researchers at Harvard University, Phreesia, and the Commonwealth Fund reveals several notable changes in outpatient care in November and December, including a shift back to telemedicine and a sharp decline in office visits by children. While certain specialties, including rheumatology and adult primary care, saw patient visits in December exceed their prepandemic baseline, weekly visits to pediatricians fell by 24 percent.
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