Michigan, Northeast Hospitals Top List of COVID-19 Telehealth Traffic

The University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Centers saw the most telehealth visits during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a recent review of Medicare claims.

The analysis of outpatient claims, conducted by California-based Hospital Pricing Specialists, found that the Ann Arbor-based health system saw 57,129 telehealth visits between April and December of 2020, with an average cost of $123.36 per visit.

In all, HPS listed the top 25 health systems in the country to see connected health business and found that roughly half of the services provided were under CPT code G0463 (Hospital Outpatient Clinic Visit). The average cost for telehealth encounter was $169.52, ranging from a high of $487.38 at Boston’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to a low of $20 at Roanoke, VA-based Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital.

The top 25 hospitals, with the number of visits and average price per visit, are:

1. University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Centers, Ann Arbor, MI, 57,129 visits; $123.36;
2. Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, 38,948 visits; $151;
3. Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, 34,336 visits, $170.20;
4. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, 29,480 visits; $487.38;
5. The University of Texas Medical Branch Galveston Campus, Galveston, TX, 27,495 visits, $119;
6. Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, 27,160 visits, $60.22;
7. Strong Memorial Hospital, Rochester, NY, 23,085 visits, $229.48;
8. The University of Vermont Medical Center, Burlington, VT, 22,974 visits; $194.40;
9. New Haven Hospital, New Haven, CT, 21,202 visits, $151.95;
10. Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, PA, 19,865 visits, $145;
11. Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, Roanoke, VA, 18,079 visits, $20;
12. Freeman West, Joplin, MO, 18,077 visits, $222;
13. Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center, La Crosse, WI, 15,406 visits, $100;
14. Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center, Richmond, VA, 15,220 visits, $352;
15. Adena Regional Medical Center, Chillicothe, OH, 14,676 visits, $108.33;
16. Our Lady of Lourdes Memorial Hospital, Binghamton, NY, 13,323 visits, $140.67;
17. Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle, 13,316 visits, $140;
18. MetroHealth Medical Center, Cleveland, 13,215 visits, $200;
19. Ascension Sacred Heart Hospital Pensacola, Pensacola, FL, 12,986 visits, $158.09;
20. Unity Health White County Medical Center, Searcy, AR, 12,704 visits, $118;
21. The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, 12,672 visits, $150.17;
22. University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital, Birmingham, AL, 12,666 visits, $317;
23. Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbus, 12,469 visits, $170;
24. UHS Binghamton General Hospital, Binghamton, NY, 12,040 visits, $72.40; and
25. UH Cleveland Medical Center, Cleveland, 11,571 visits, $137.31.

Among regions, the Northeast saw the most telehealth traffic, with three Massachusetts hospitals (all in Boston and ranked 2 through 4), one in Vermont, one in Connecticut and three New York hospitals all making the list. The Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions also saw some telehealth traffic, while the Southwest saw no hospitals make the list and the only West Coast hospital to make the grade was in Seattle.