Primary Care by Telehealth and Care Quality in the Veterans Health Administration
In this cohort study of veterans with 3 or more primary care visits, primary care quality was similar for individuals who received all in-person care and those receiving low or intermediate proportions of telehealth. However, high telehealth use was associated with lower quality for several services, especially those requiring in-person interaction. Findings demonstrate the viability of hybrid telehealth and in-person models. Additional resources might be needed to ensure high-quality primary care for high proportion telehealth users.
Authors
- Donna M. Zulman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8904-2810)
- Karin Nelson
- Jacqueline M. Ferguson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0027-387X)
- Jonathan Staloff (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-5856-4397)
- Eric Gunnink
- Edwin S. Wong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6079-686X)
- Ashok S. Reddy
- Jorge Rojas
Institutions
- University of Washington (US)
- VA Palo Alto Health Care System (US)
- VA Puget Sound Health Care System (US)
- Stanford Health Care (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- JAMA Network Open
- Published
- 2026-02-17
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.59940
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Telemedicine and Telehealth Implementation
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 41.85
Funders
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs