Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Department of Otolaryngology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2023 Jan;168(1):105-107. doi: 10.1177/01945998221096593.
Telemedicine utilization among otolaryngologists was rare prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. We sought to understand rates of telemedicine utilization by otolaryngologists amid unprecedented changes in care delivery during the pandemic. Using Medicare Physician/Supplier Procedure Summary data, we performed a retrospective cross-sectional analysis of telemedicine services provided to Medicare beneficiaries by otolaryngologists in 2020. The total number of services and amount of reimbursement received by otolaryngologists for telemedical care increased by 52,989% and 73,147% in 2020 relative to 2019: 139,094 vs 262 services and $9.9 million vs $13,536, respectively. The mean telemedicine revenue per otolaryngologist offset only 8.8% ($9304.69) of losses from the reduction in mean in-person revenue between 2019 and 2020. Further research will be necessary to inform successful adoption of telemedicine within our field amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
在 COVID-19 大流行之前，耳鼻喉科医生很少使用远程医疗。我们试图了解在大流行期间医疗服务提供方式发生前所未有的变化的情况下，耳鼻喉科医生使用远程医疗的比率。我们使用 Medicare Physician/Supplier Procedure Summary 数据，对 2020 年耳鼻喉科医生向 Medicare 受益人为提供的远程医疗服务进行了回顾性横断面分析。与 2019 年相比，2020 年耳鼻喉科医生提供的远程医疗服务数量和获得的报销金额分别增加了 52989%和 73147%：分别为 139094 次和 262 次，9904.69 美元和 13536 美元。每位耳鼻喉科医生的远程医疗收入平均仅抵消了 2019 年至 2020 年之间人均收入减少的 8.8%（9304.69 美元）。在持续的 COVID-19 大流行中，我们需要进一步研究以了解如何在我们的领域成功采用远程医疗。
