Table 2.

Factors Affecting Use of Telemedicine

All AgesAged 18 Years and Older Only
(1)(2)(3)(4)(5)
New patient−0.041***−0.047***−0.046***−0.046***−0.047***
(0.003)(0.003)(0.003)(0.003)(0.003)
Primary care visit0.0030.0030.0020.002−0.000
(0.002)(0.002)(0.002)(0.002)(0.002)
LACE/Risk score−0.000***−0.000−0.000*−0.000***−0.000**
(0.000)(0.000)(0.000)(0.000)(0.000)
Hospital admission risk0.000***
(0.000)
Sex = Male0.020***0.019***0.019***0.019***0.016***
(0.002)(0.002)(0.002)(0.002)(0.002)
Race = White0.012***0.011***0.011***0.011***0.009**
(0.003)(0.004)(0.004)(0.004)(0.004)
Age, years0.002***−0.002***
(0.000)(0.000)
Married0.003−0.005***−0.007***−0.007***−0.004**
(0.003)(0.002)(0.002)(0.002)(0.002)
Persons aged 35 years and older but younger than 65 years = 1−0.024***−0.029***−0.021***
(0.003)(0.004)(0.004)
Persons aged 65 years or older = 1−0.024***−0.040***−0.029***
(0.003)(0.007)(0.007)
Persons aged older than 35 years but younger than 65 years interacted with LACE score0.000**0.000
(0.000)(0.000)
Persons aged 65 years or older interacted with LACE score0.001***0.001**
(0.000)(0.000)
Constant−0.118***−0.029−0.067**−0.065**−0.067**
(0.029)(0.030)(0.028)(0.029)(0.028)
Observations110,991105,988106,025106,025106,025
R-squared0.0670.0680.0680.0680.083
Adjusted R-squared0.06660.06800.06780.06790.0822
  • *** P < .01,

  • ** P < .05,

  • * P < .1.

  • Models also control for whether the visit was on a weekday, the month of the visit, distance of the patient from the clinics in Morgantown, and community-level factors at the zip code level including the poverty rate, median household income, the unemployment rate, the percentage of persons with a bachelor's degree or higher and with a high school diploma. Model 5 also include diagnosis codes.

  • Robust standard errors in parentheses.

  • Abbreviations: LACE score, a readmission risk score based on hospital admission information, the Charlson Comorbidity index, and emergency department visits within the last 6 to 12 months.