Virtual care use surged during the January 2025 Los Angeles-area wildfires, according to research from Pasadena-based Kaiser Permanente Southern California and Seattle-based University of Washington.
“Researchers concluded that virtual care played a critical role in meeting health needs during the disaster and emphasized the need for health systems to prioritize telehealth capacity for future climate-related emergencies,” the university stated in a Dec. 16 news release.
Here are five things to know from the Nov. 26 JAMA Health Forum study:
1. During the week after the fires began, there were an estimated 3,375 excess virtual cardiovascular and respiratory visits compared with what would normally be expected.
2. Virtual visits for respiratory symptoms were about 42% higher than expected among people living within about 20 kilometers of fire burn zones.
3. For residents elsewhere in Los Angeles County (but more than 20 kilometers from burn zones), respiratory virtual visits were about 36% above expected levels.
4. Virtual cardiovascular visits rose about 44% among highly exposed residents and 40% among moderately exposed residents.
5. When extrapolated to all insured Los Angeles County residents, the analysis estimated roughly 15,792 excess virtual cardiovascular visits and 18,489 excess virtual respiratory visits during the week following the fires.
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