Although the use of virtual care has started to increase, COVID-19 fell off the top five diagnostic list in national telemedicine in September.

The virus does not account for a large proportion of claims in most areas of the United States. FAIR Health’s Monthly Telemedicine Area Tracker Established.

In August, in every region except the Northeast, the proportion of COVID-19 claims was between 1.5% and 3.5%.

Mental health conditions continue to dominate diagnosis through telemedicine visits, accounting for 50% to nearly 70% of all virtual care claims. From August to September 2021, the percentage share of mental health status in all telemedicine claims nationwide has increased.

This is different from July and August, when mental health status as a percentage of telemedicine diagnosis declined.

FAIR Health uses data from private insurance groups including Medicare Advantage to measure the development of telemedicine each month since May 2020.The data also showed that the national telemedicine utilization rate accounted for the percentage of all medical claims. In August and September, following the Months of refusal to use.

As COVID-19 variants and surges slowly began to drive patients away from in-person visits, the overall telemedicine usage rate rose to 4.4% of all medical claims in September. Although virtual care appointments in the Midwest and West have increased, the number of people in the Northeast has decreased, while usage in the South has not changed.

Nationwide, developmental disabilities climbed from fourth to third place in telemedicine diagnosis, and substance use disorders became part of the top five in September.

Among the top five telemedicine program codes ranked by usage rate, the 30-minute psychotherapy visit, evaluation, and management ranked fifth nationwide in September. This program replaces five to ten minutes of talking with a doctor on the phone.