The surge of Omicron cases drove a significant increase in telehealth utilization from November to December, according to nonprofit data consultant FAIR Health. Here is a quick briefing on the new data. A Dramatic Turnaround Increases in telehealth use during the pandemic is nothing new. The spikes in telehealth utilization resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns and Medicare coverage waivers are well documented. (See, “Americans Like Telehealth Visits and Want More,” DTET, May 19, 2021.) However, the spikes in the final months of 2021 are noteworthy because they dramatically reverse the nearly 18 months of steady declines that began in May 2020. From September to October, just before the Omicron surge began, telehealth utilization declined almost seven percent on a month-to-month basis, reaching a record-low. But just as how the initial COVID-19 outbreak drove telehealth utilization to new highs in the spring of 2020, the wave of Omicron cases fueled a resurgence at the end of 2021. In December, Telehealth accounted for 4.9 percent of all US medical claims, as compared to 4.4 percent in November, a single month increase of more than 11 percent, according to the independent nonprofit known for its collection and accessible communication of medical claims […]