• Derjung M Tarn, Courtney Hintz, Eluar Mendez-Hernandez, Sabrina P Sawlani, and Michelle A Bholat.
• From the Department of Family Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA (DMT, EMH, MAB); Division of Sports Medicine, Department of Family Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA (CH, SPS). dtarn@mednet.ucla.edu.
• J Am Board Fam Med. 2021 Feb 1; 34 (Suppl): S147-S151.

PurposeExamine use of office resources by primary care patients who were initially evaluated through telehealth, telephone, or in-person encounters.MethodsRetrospective electronic health record review on patients seen in March 2020 for evaluation of potential COVID-19 symptoms, to assess the total number of interactions with physicians and office staff.ResultsOf 202 patients, 89 (44%) had initial telehealth, 55 (27%) telephone, and 52 (26%) in-person encounters. Patients initially evaluated through telehealth, telephone, and in-person encounters had a mean of 6.1 (S.D. = 3.7), 5.2 (S.D. = 3.6), and 4.5 (S.D. = 3.0) total interactions with the office, respectively (P = .03), and 9%, 12.7%, and 19.2%, respectively, had a subsequent in-person or emergency department visit (P = .22). Multivariable analysis showed no differences in number of office interactions based on initial visit type; older patients (95% CI = 0.00-0.07) and those with subjective fevers (95% CI = 1.01-3.01) or shortness of breath (95% CI = 0.23-2.28) had more interactions with the office.ConclusionPrimary care providers used virtual visits to care for most patients presenting with potential COVID-19 symptoms, with many patients choosing telephone over telehealth visits. Virtual visits can successfully limit patient exposure to other people, and consideration could be given to increasing its use for patients with potential symptoms of COVID-19.© Copyright 2021 by the American Board of Family Medicine.

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