May 14, 2021

Trends in Pediatric Primary Care Visits during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Public Health Policy and Practice

Keywords (Tags): children, public health

• A retrospective review of a large US commercial medical claims database found that pediatric primary care visits were 60% lower between March 25 and April 21, 2020 compared to the same period in 2019, and problem-focused visits were 63% lower. Primary care visits and problem-focused visits remained 17% and 31% lower in October 2020 compared to October 2019. The reduction in problem-focused visits was mainly due to a reduction in visits for infectious diseases, including acute respiratory infections and gastroenteritis. The rates of preventive and vaccination visits in October 2020 exceeded those in 2019; however, a cumulative deficit of these visits remained, indicating lower vaccination rates among children and a higher risk for vaccine-preventable disease if this deficit is not addressed. 

Schweiberger et al. (May 2021). Trends in Pediatric Primary Care Visits during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Academic Pediatrics. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acap.2021.04.031