Patients of Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente are increasingly opting for e-visits, a JAMA Network Open analysis found.
Here are six key takeaways from the study of the asynchronous message-based visits, according to a Dec. 2 health system news release:
1. The analysis looked at four common reasons for outpatient visits among Kaiser Permanente Northern California patients — urinary tract infection, seasonal allergies, acne, and international travel — during 2024.
2. For patients with urinary tract infections, 58% chose to use an e-visit rather than phone, video or in-person care.
3. E-visits were also selected by 56% of patients seeking pretravel advice, but only 24% of patients with seasonal allergy symptoms or acne.
4. The “point-of-contact resolution” — a measure of how often the patient’s care need was resolved during the initial visit — was similar or even better for e-visits compared with phone, video or in-person visits for three of the four conditions.
5. Follow-up care within seven days of an e-visit was quite low: 2.5% for urinary tract infection, 2.1% for acne, 6.5% for seasonal allergy, and only 0.1% for international travel.
6. The e-visit option is being used “robustly” across age, race/ethnicity, language spoken, and comorbidity status — indicating broad acceptance without notable disparities by socioeconomic status.
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