Research ArticleOriginal Research

Care Delivery in Community Health Centers Before, During, and After the COVID-19 Pandemic (2019–2022)

Nicole Cook, Brenda M. McGrath, Suparna M. Navale, Siran M. Koroukian, Anna R. Templeton, Laura C. Crocker, Stephen J. Zyzanski, Wyatt P. Bensken and Kurt C. Stange
The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine November 2023, 36 (6) 916-926; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3122/jabfm.2023.230081R1

Article Figures & Data

Figures

  • Figure 1.
    Figure 1.

    Monthly encounters for primary care, behavioral health care, and COVID tests/vaccines at 218 health centers from 2019 to 2022.

  • Figure 2.
    Figure 2.

    Monthly number of new and established patients with a visit for primary care and behavioral health.

  • Figure 3.
    Figure 3.

    Monthly number of patients with a visit for primary care or behavioral health by age group at 218 health centers from 2019 to 2022.

  • Figure 4.
    Figure 4.

    Monthly number of in-person and telehealth encounters for primary care and behavioral health (2019 to 2022).

  • Appendix Figure 1.
    Appendix Figure 1.

    Quarterly encounters for patients who received primary care, behavioral health and COVID tests/vaccines.

  • Appendix Figure 2.
    Appendix Figure 2.

    New and established patients with a visit for primary care and behavioral health by quarter (2019–2022).

  • Appendix Figure 3.
    Appendix Figure 3.

    Patients with a visit for primary care or behavioral health by age group at health centers by quarter (2019–2022).

  • Appendix Figure 4.
    Appendix Figure 4.

    In-person and telehealth encounters for primary care and behavioral health by quarter (2019–2022).

Tables

  • Table 1.

    Demographic Characteristics of 1,581,744 Patients Receiving Care in 218 Health Centers from 2019–2022

    2019202020212022
    N(%)N(%)N(%)N(%)
    Patients, All services838,075825,112905,923819,043
    Encounters, All services3,868,3533,817,8193,906,2443,825,283
    Sex
     Female470,744(56.2)462,181(56.0)502,504(55.5)459,767(56.1)
     Male366,953(43.8)362,419(43.9)402,733(44.5)358,557(43.8)
     Unknown/Other378(0.0)512(0.1)686(0.1)719(0.1)
    Age
     0 to 17209,721(25.0)174,868(21.2)193,222(21.3)187,144(22.8)
     18 to 44313,399(37.4)323,704(39.2)350,800(38.7)304,141(37.1)
     45 to 64226,144(27.0)231,363(28.0)249,048(27.5)222,779(27.2)
     65+88,805(10.6)95,170(11.5)112,846(12.5)104,967(12.8)
    Race
     White523,755(62.5)507,530(61.5)554,015(61.2)493,700(60.3)
     Black168,786(20.1)166,937(20.2)177,684(19.6)159,314(19.5)
     Unknown82,946(9.9)89,557(10.9)105,751(11.7)100,402(12.3)
     Asian38,868(4.6)37,652(4.6)43,045(4.8)41,546(5.1)
     Multiple10,033(1.2)9996(1.2)11,077(1.2)10,560(1.3)
     American Indian/Alaska Native8316(1.0)8051(1.0)8616(1.0)8158(1.0)
     Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander5371(0.6)5389(0.7)5735(0.6)5363(0.7)
    Ethnicity
     Hispanic302,186(36.1)284,298(34.5)318,220(35.1)292,440(35.7)
     Not Hispanic498,404(59.5)496,488(60.2)533,602(58.9)474,865(58.0)
     Unknown37,485(4.5)44,326(5.4)54,101(6.0)51,738(6.3)
    Insurance
     Medicaid438,356(52.3)414,425(50.2)456,591(50.4)435,187(53.1)
     Medicare108,239(12.9)110,308(13.4)113,707(12.6)97,148(11.9)
     Other Public13,402(1.6)10,611(1.3)10,798(1.2)9751(1.2)
     Private137,744(16.4)152,020(18.4)172,343(19.0)140,099(17.1)
     Uninsured140,328(16.7)137,627(16.7)151,736(16.7)136,714(16.7)
     No Information6(0.0)121(0.0)748(0.1)144(0.0)
    Hypertension198,400(23.7)193,740(23.5)198,303(21.9)181,611(22.2)
    Diabetes104,376(12.5)102,716(12.4)104,928(11.6)97,155(11.9)
    Primary Non-English Speaker261,570(31.2)243,192(29.5)278,347(30.7)265,786(32.5)
    Federal Poverty Level
     >138%172,915(20.6)170,329(20.6)195,329(21.6)177,855(21.7)
     <138%665,160(79.4)654,783(79.4)710,594(78.4)641,188(78.3)

    • Abbreviation: PI, Pacific Islander.

  • Table 2.

    Annual New and Established Patients and In-Person and Telehealth Encounters for Primary Care and Behavioral Health Care Provided by 218 Health Centers from 2019 to 2022

    2019202020212022% Change 2019 to 2022
    Primary Care
     Patients
      Established patients1228,533197,415185,702176,057−23.0%
      New patients1689,640647,950663,862653,475−5.2%
      Age 0 to 17211,698172,379179,962180,462−14.8%
      Age 18 to 44303,479295,219292,094277,146−8.7%
      Age 45 to 64222,636218,821215,613208,901−6.2%
      Age 65+84,34487,34091,33094,22611.7%
     Encounters
      In-person2,402,2821,384,1271,585,1121,714,330−28.6%
      Telehealth7991921,254707,214473,5135825.6%
      Total encounters2,410,2732,305,3812,292,3262,187,843−9.2%
    Behavioral Health
     Patients
      Established patients178,74081,59882,61878,272−0.6%
      New patients160,78353,56852,13348,762−19.8%
      Age 0 to 1718,20614,97615,32015,026−17.5%
      Age 18 to 4450,82151,10352,83749,661−2.3%
      Age 45 to 6433,79933,13331,54929,461−12.8%
      Age 65+70697346769277509.6%
     Encounters
      In-person520,374303,769262,085254,508−51.1%
      Telehealth1883307,738360,483336,76917,784.7%
      Total encounters522,257611,507622,568591,27713.2%

    • Notes: 1In a given year, a patient may be both a new and an established patient; in a given month, patients are unduplicated and are counted only as a new or existing patient. If a patient had multiple visits in a month in which they were a new patient, they would be considered a new patient at each visit.

  • Appendix Table 1.
  • Appendix Table 2.
Back to top

In this issue

Print
Download PDF
Article Alerts
Email Article
Citation Tools

Jump to section

Keywords