Impact of Telehealth on Pediatric Direct Primary Care: Is Virtually Showing Up Valuable?

Our study demonstrates that utilization of telehealth modalities in DPC reduces the frequency of in-person office, urgent care, and ED visits and leads to family cost savings. These findings offer valuable insight for healthcare agencies and professional societies developing policies to support pediatric DPC as a sustainable model that delivers value to families, employers, and payers alike. Limitations include regional cost variations and unspecified total avoided visits, and the number of pediatric patients per family. This may result in an underestimation of family savings. Further research should include a larger sample size with clear specifications on the number of visits avoided and the number of pediatric patients treated.