The Latest Research, Commentary, And News From Health Affairs
Monday, April 19, 2021
Dear John,
Telehealth is billed as a cost-efficient, convenient alternative to in-person urgent care, but does it actually save the system resources?
For Certain Conditions, Telemedicine Is Linked To More Downstream Visits
On-demand virtual care for minor medical issues has exploded during the COVID-19 pandemic. Proponents argue that direct-to-consumer telemedicine can be a cost-efficient, convenient alternative to emergency department and urgent care
visits. But a new paper suggests that it may lead to more additional care than in-person medicine does.
Kathleen Yinran Li and colleagues sought to better understand the overall costs associated with video-based, on-demand, patient-initiated telemedicine for acute respiratory infections. They evaluated direct-to-consumer telemedicine claims from a large commercial payer for 2016 to 2019 and found that 10.3 percent of these telemedicine visits led to subsequent in-person visits, compared to only 5.9 percent of in-person encounters. Read more about these findings and their implications for telehealth use in the April issue.
Health Affairs continues to cover the evolution of telehealth. For journal articles, blogs, and podcasts about emerging telehealth research, click here.
Health Affairs is planning an upcoming issue on Racism and Health, with an emphasis on structural racism. To be published in February 2022, it will feature original research, analyses, commentaries, and personal narrative. The deadline to submit abstracts, May 3, is fast
approaching. If you are thinking about submitting an abstract, join us this week for an informal, online Q&A session, "Tips for Navigating our Request for Abstracts (RFA) Process." The Q&A will be hosted by Health Equity Director Vabren Watts and Senior Editor Jessica Bylander. Date: Thursday, April 22, 2021 Time: 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. ET Place: Online (meeting details will be emailed in advance)
Presenters to include:
Arturo Vargas Bustamante, Associate Professor of Health Policy and Management at UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health, and recent theme issue adviser for Health Affairs, will share his thoughts on what makes a successful abstract and his advice for someone hoping to publish in Health Affairs.
Please note: We encourage papers that represent cross-disciplinary efforts that bridge health and nonhealth sectors. In addition, we are seeking contributions from junior faculty; authors with lived experience of racism, including nonacademic community members; and authors from Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Hispanic-Serving Institutions, tribal colleges and universities, and Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander–Serving Institutions. Health Affairs thanks the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Episcopal Health Foundation for their generous support of this
issue.
Health Affairs is the leading peer-reviewedjournalat the intersection of health, health care, and policy. Published monthly by Project
HOPE, the journal is available in print and online. Late-breaking content is also found through healthaffairs.org, Health Affairs Today, and Health Affairs Sunday Update.
Project HOPE is a global health and humanitarian relief organization that places power in the hands of local health care workers to save lives across the globe. Project HOPE has published Health Affairs since 1981.
