A study by the Veterans Affairs (VA) Health Care System found that US veterans’ healthcare visits increased after a COVID-19 infection. The study, published in JAMA Network Open, used data from over 200,000 COVID-infected and uninfected veterans from 2019 to 2022. Most veterans were men, with an average age of 60.5 years.
Before infection, both groups had similar outpatient healthcare visit rates. But during the infection week, visits increased and stayed higher than before, even after a year. Primary care visits were the main reason for this increase. Infected veterans had more outpatient healthcare visits, except for surgeries, than uninfected ones.
The study also showed that not only in-person visits increased. Telehealth visits for primary, mental health, and other care also rose in the month after infection and stayed high throughout the year. In the first month, there were nearly two more primary care visits, with most of them via telehealth. There were also more mental health visits, with some of them via telehealth.