Today’s issue of WorkCompRecap features the release of a new report from the California WCIRB that examines the characteristics of telehealth services in the state’s workers’ compensation system and compares claims involving telehealth services to those involving only in-person medical services.
Key findings included a sharp increase in telehealth utilization during the early months of the pandemic, and despite a gradual decline in utilization, overall usage and payments remained significantly higher in 2021 and 2022. The report also notes that evaluation and management (E/M) services accounted for over 80% of all telehealth services provided during the pandemic. Psychotherapies and psychiatric services had the highest share of services delivered via telehealth, and claims involving mental and behavioral disorders are also more likely to use telehealth services. Compared to claims with in-person services only, telehealth claims are more likely to be indemnity claims, and are more common among younger injured workers and those in the retail and health industries.