Telemedicine Use Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic in People with Alzheimer’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, or Parkinson’s Disease: A Cross-Sectional Study Using US Commercial Claims Data

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, use of telemedicine (TM) increased dramatically, but it is unclear how use varies by characteristics of people with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), multiple sclerosis (MS), or Parkinson’s disease (PD). Methods: This cross-sectional study used US PharMetrics Plus c...

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Main Authors: Anisha M. Patel, Robert Schuldt, Denise M. Boudreau, Bryan R. Cobb, Nikki Win, Marisa P. McGinley
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Mary Ann Liebert 2024-04-01
Series:Telemedicine Reports
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Online Access:https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/tmr.2024.0030
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author Anisha M. Patel
Robert Schuldt
Denise M. Boudreau
Bryan R. Cobb
Nikki Win
Marisa P. McGinley
author_facet Anisha M. Patel
Robert Schuldt
Denise M. Boudreau
Bryan R. Cobb
Nikki Win
Marisa P. McGinley
author_sort Anisha M. Patel
collection DOAJ
description Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, use of telemedicine (TM) increased dramatically, but it is unclear how use varies by characteristics of people with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), multiple sclerosis (MS), or Parkinson’s disease (PD). Methods: This cross-sectional study used US PharMetrics Plus commercial claims data from January 1, 2019, to December 31, 2021. TM use (≥1 Current Procedural Terminology code) was assessed in each study year (2019, 2020, and 2021) among people with ≥1 inpatient or ≥2 outpatient diagnosis codes ≥30 days apart for AD, MS, or PD. Any TM use and disease-related visits (AD, MS, or PD diagnosis code within TM claim) were summarized, and characteristics of TM users versus nonusers during the pandemic (2020 and 2021) were described. Results: Among people with AD, MS, or PD, 0.9% used TM in 2019 versus 58.0% in 2020 and 42.5% in 2021. Among TM users in 2020 and 2021, the majority had TM visits related to their neurological disorder (73.2% and 64.6%, respectively). During the pandemic, approximately 25% of total TM visits (n = 296,434) were provided by a neurologist. Mean (SD) age of TM users was similar to nonusers (60.5 [15.1] and 61.5 [15.3] years), but TM users were more likely to be female (62% vs 60%), enrolled in Medicare (33% vs 30%), and reside in western (64.2% vs 35.8%) or eastern (61.0% vs 39.0%) regions versus nonusers. Conclusions: Although results indicate expanded use of and access to TM among people with AD, MS, or PD, differences in patient and health care provider characteristics for TM use were notable.
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spelling doaj-art-4f94704d22544eb08bacd6bbf5fd094e2025-08-20T03:09:57ZengMary Ann LiebertTelemedicine Reports2692-43662024-04-015124725510.1089/tmr.2024.0030Telemedicine Use Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic in People with Alzheimer’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, or Parkinson’s Disease: A Cross-Sectional Study Using US Commercial Claims DataAnisha M. Patel0Robert Schuldt1Denise M. Boudreau2Bryan R. Cobb3Nikki Win4Marisa P. McGinley5Genentech Inc., South San Francisco, California, USA.Genentech Inc., South San Francisco, California, USA.Genentech Inc., South San Francisco, California, USA.Genentech Inc., South San Francisco, California, USA.Genentech Inc., South San Francisco, California, USA.Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, use of telemedicine (TM) increased dramatically, but it is unclear how use varies by characteristics of people with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), multiple sclerosis (MS), or Parkinson’s disease (PD). Methods: This cross-sectional study used US PharMetrics Plus commercial claims data from January 1, 2019, to December 31, 2021. TM use (≥1 Current Procedural Terminology code) was assessed in each study year (2019, 2020, and 2021) among people with ≥1 inpatient or ≥2 outpatient diagnosis codes ≥30 days apart for AD, MS, or PD. Any TM use and disease-related visits (AD, MS, or PD diagnosis code within TM claim) were summarized, and characteristics of TM users versus nonusers during the pandemic (2020 and 2021) were described. Results: Among people with AD, MS, or PD, 0.9% used TM in 2019 versus 58.0% in 2020 and 42.5% in 2021. Among TM users in 2020 and 2021, the majority had TM visits related to their neurological disorder (73.2% and 64.6%, respectively). During the pandemic, approximately 25% of total TM visits (n = 296,434) were provided by a neurologist. Mean (SD) age of TM users was similar to nonusers (60.5 [15.1] and 61.5 [15.3] years), but TM users were more likely to be female (62% vs 60%), enrolled in Medicare (33% vs 30%), and reside in western (64.2% vs 35.8%) or eastern (61.0% vs 39.0%) regions versus nonusers. Conclusions: Although results indicate expanded use of and access to TM among people with AD, MS, or PD, differences in patient and health care provider characteristics for TM use were notable.https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/tmr.2024.0030Alzheimer’s diseasemultiple sclerosisParkinson’s diseasetelehealthtelemedicine
spellingShingle Anisha M. Patel
Robert Schuldt
Denise M. Boudreau
Bryan R. Cobb
Nikki Win
Marisa P. McGinley
Telemedicine Use Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic in People with Alzheimer’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, or Parkinson’s Disease: A Cross-Sectional Study Using US Commercial Claims Data
Telemedicine Reports
Alzheimer’s disease
multiple sclerosis
Parkinson’s disease
telehealth
telemedicine
title Telemedicine Use Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic in People with Alzheimer’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, or Parkinson’s Disease: A Cross-Sectional Study Using US Commercial Claims Data
title_full Telemedicine Use Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic in People with Alzheimer’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, or Parkinson’s Disease: A Cross-Sectional Study Using US Commercial Claims Data
title_fullStr Telemedicine Use Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic in People with Alzheimer’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, or Parkinson’s Disease: A Cross-Sectional Study Using US Commercial Claims Data
title_full_unstemmed Telemedicine Use Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic in People with Alzheimer’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, or Parkinson’s Disease: A Cross-Sectional Study Using US Commercial Claims Data
title_short Telemedicine Use Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic in People with Alzheimer’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, or Parkinson’s Disease: A Cross-Sectional Study Using US Commercial Claims Data
title_sort telemedicine use before and during the covid 19 pandemic in people with alzheimer s disease multiple sclerosis or parkinson s disease a cross sectional study using us commercial claims data
topic Alzheimer’s disease
multiple sclerosis
Parkinson’s disease
telehealth
telemedicine
url https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/tmr.2024.0030
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