Date of Award

Spring 4-10-2023

Embargo Period

4-26-2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Doctor of Health Administration

Department

Health Administration

College

College of Health Professions

First Advisor

Jiebing Wen

Second Advisor

Annie Simpson

Third Advisor

Daniel Brinton

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic brought challenges to patient care as healthcare entities and systems were forced to move care virtually in many instances. Some organizations were poised for this challenge while others struggled, however, most were concerned with how well patients were being managed as telehealth became a primary method in care delivery. This study aims to evaluate the impact of telehealth services on ED utilization rates for children ages 0-12 years with a new diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Methods: Using linear regression analyses and individual and state fixed effects models, over 67000 emergency department (ED) and telehealth claims were reviewed as well as over 3000 total daily visits. The findings were displayed in line graphs for comparison and descriptive tables.

Conclusion: Data analysis showed that telehealth care may be an effective tool in reducing emergency department utilization for children within the defined cohort. Although ED and telehealth were rare events, through both models, telehealth was not shown to increase the probability of an ED claim/visit.

Rights

Copyright is held by the author. All rights reserved.

Download

Share

COinS