Trends in the Use of Telehealth During the Emergence of the COVID-19 Pandemic — United States, January–March 2020

In February 2020, CDC issued guidance advising persons and health care providers in areas affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic to adopt social distancing practices, specifically recommending that health care facilities and providers offer clinical services through virtual means such as telehealth.* Telehealth is the use of two-way telecommunications technologies to provide clinical health care through a variety of remote methods. To examine changes in the frequency of use of telehealth services during the early pandemic period, CDC analyzed deidentified encounter (i.e., visit) data from four of the largest U.S. telehealth providers that offer services in all states. Trends in telehealth encounters…