Broadband as physician‘s assistant got a boost in August likely due to the rise of the COVID-19 delta variant.
That is according to a monthly telehealth report from FAIR Health, which found that telehealth use was up after two months of decline and that COVID-19 was now among the top five remote diagnoses.
The monthly tracker looks at privately insured people, which includes Medicare Advantage but excludes Medicare fee-for-service and Medicaid.
The FCC has handed out millions of dollars in telehealth subsidies at the direction of Congress. In fact, in August it handed out $41.98 million in its second round of funding for COVID-19 telehealth services.
The survey found that growth of telehealth usage in August was greatest in the South, coinciding with the peak of the delta variant-driven cases in the South. The group suggests the rise was because both patients and providers were looking to reduce the risk of transmission.
While COVID-19 was the the fifth-most-frequent telehealth diagnosis nationally in August, it was No. 3 in the South.
The top-ranked diagnosis was mental health related.
