Changes in Sick Visits at an Academic Pediatric Primary Care Practice due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Kelly, Jessica M; Watts, Delma-Jean; Heinly, Allison; Chu, Tzu-Chun; Golova, Natalia; Kamath, Shuba; Riese, Alison

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE The COVID-19 pandemic decreased pediatric patient volumes; however, details regarding patterns of use within primary care sick visits are not well understood. METHODS We performed a retrospective chart review of sick visits in an academic primary care clinic from March-August 2019 and 2020 and recorded demographics and visit diagnoses. Descriptive statistics, Chi-square, and Fisher's exact tests were used to compare the two time periods. RESULTS Patient age, gender, and insurance type were similar across years. In 2020, there were 1,868 sick visits (247 telehealth, 4%-36% of monthly visits) compared to 4,007 (0 telehealth) in 2019. The proportion of infectious diagnoses decreased (35% vs 48%); non-infectious diagnoses increased, including dermatological (25% vs 19%) and genitourinary/reproductive (9% vs. 6%) diagnoses. Conclusion: Similar to pediatric emergency departments, we found decreased primary care sick visits. Telehealth increased in 2020 and varied with COVID-19 community prevalence. Visits for contagious illnesses decreased in 2020, likely related to mitigation measures.