Virtual Care Linked To Sustained Reduction In Low-Acuity Emergency Department Visit Volume At Veterans Affairs Hospitals

After the Veterans Affairs Health System (VA) expanded access to virtual care systemwide in 2020 as a response to the COVID-19 public health emergency, the volume of low-acuity emergency department (ED) visits declined, falling to 12% below the pre-COVID baseline in February 2023. The VA virtual care expansion took place from March 15 to May 30, 2020.

To analyze the impact of the virtual care expansion, researchers evaluated monthly patterns in low-acuity ED visits from March 1, 2017, through February 28, 2023. The findings were based on an analysis of more than 10.3 million VA . . .