Telehealth Expansion in Medicare: Policy Changes, Recent Trends in Adoption, and Future Impact

Explosive growth in Telehealth utilization in 2020 (over 26.8M visits!) but significant geographic variation exists. Download our free report to see more.

For countless individuals across the United States and the world, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic prompted a rapid shift to digital life. In the healthcare industry, the sudden need to reduce patient travel and exposure while preserving provider capacity resulted in an unprecedented increase in the adoption of telemedicine. Within a matter of days, policymakers and payers expanded access to remote care, and providers and patients learned new technologies to ensure continuity of critical healthcare services.

In response to the pandemic, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) provided CareJourney with access to up-to-date, national Medicare fee-for-service claims data. Building upon CareJourney’s existing data repository, this data access gives us the opportunity and responsibility to assist healthcare organizations in navigating changes in how care is delivered, which includes gaining a better understanding of how telehealth can be leveraged now and in the future.

The significant growth in telehealth claims data in 2020 enables us to gain an understanding of which geographies and patient populations have been best served by telehealth, and where additional room for growth exists. Get access to our interactive analysis.