Telehealth Use Dipped in October

The declines varied by regions, with larger drops in the South, Midwest, and West. After a summer of relative stability, Telehealth use fell 3.7% this past autumn, from 5.4% of medical claim lines in September to 5.2% in October, according to FAIR Health's Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker. The declines varied by regions, with larger dips in the South (6.8%), Midwest (4.9%) and West (4.1%), contrasting increased use in the Northeast (1.7%), according to the FAIR data, which includes privately insured population, including Medicare Advantage but excludes Medicare fee-for-service and Medicaid. COVID-19 continued to fall among the top five telehealth diagnoses nationally and in most regions in October, as it had in September. Nationally and in the Midwest, COVID-19 fell from third to fifth place in the rankings. In the Northeast, it fell from second to third place, and in the South, it fell from fifth place out of the rankings.