Impact of COVID-19 on Pediatric Primary Care Visits at Four Academic Institutions in the Carolinas

Callie L. Brown, Kimberly Montez, Jane Blakely Amati, Kristina Simeonsson, John D. Townsend, Colin J. Orr and Deepak Palakshappa
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Callie L. Brown: Department of Pediatrics, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27101, USA
Kimberly Montez: Department of Pediatrics, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27101, USA
Jane Blakely Amati: Department of Pediatrics, Prisma Health, University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville, Greenville, SC 29605, USA
Kristina Simeonsson: Department of Pediatrics, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27834, USA
John D. Townsend: Department of Pediatrics, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27834, USA
Colin J. Orr: Department of Pediatrics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, USA
Deepak Palakshappa: Department of Epidemiology and Prevention, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27101, USA

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 11, 1-9

Abstract: We aimed to determine how COVID-19 affected the number and type of pediatric primary care visits in April 2020, compared to April 2019, and which characteristics were associated with obtaining care in 2020. We performed a retrospective chart review of patients receiving care in April 2019 and April 2020 from four large, academic institutions across two states. The subjects were included if they were aged 0–18 years and were seen in a pediatric clinic in April 2019 or April 2020. We extracted the number of visits, visit type, and visit diagnosis; and the patient characteristics, including age, race/ethnicity, and insurance status. Logistic regression analysis identified characteristics associated with obtaining care in April 2020. We included 120,230 visits. Participants were 50% white and half had Medicaid. In 2020 there were significantly fewer visits for both well and acute visits with 42,670 visits in 2020 compared to 77,560 in 2019; 6616 were telehealth visits in 2020. Visits for chronic conditions were significantly decreased in 2020. Attending a visit in 2020 was more likely if the participant was black or Hispanic, younger, attending an acute visit, or had private insurance. During the COVID-19 pandemic, pediatric primary care decreased substantially for both well visits and follow-up of chronic conditions.

Keywords: COVID-19; pediatrics; primary care; well visits; mental health; obesity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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