Patient characteristics before and after the implementation of outpatient telemedicine billing codes
| Characteristic | No. (%) of patients* | Std. diff.† | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr. 1, 2015, to Mar. 31, 2020 n = 40 098 | Apr. 1, 2020, to Mar. 31, 2021 n = 7503 | ||
| Age, yr, median (IQR) | 73 (62–82) | 73 (62–81) | 0.024 |
| Sex, female | 19 786 (49.3) | 3682 (49.1) | 0.005 |
| Neighbourhood income quintile | |||
| 1 (lowest) | 8583 (21.4) | 1465 (19.5) | 0.047 |
| 2 | 8479 (21.1) | 1540 (20.5) | 0.015 |
| 3 | 8035 (20.0) | 1506 (20.1) | 0.001 |
| 4 | 7334 (18.3) | 1436 (19.1) | 0.022 |
| 5 (highest) | 7536 (18.8) | 1532 (20.4) | 0.041 |
| Missing | 131 (0.3) | 24 (0.3) | 0.001 |
| Residence | |||
| Large urban (population > 100 000) | 29 832 (74.4) | 5485 (73.1) | 0.029 |
| Medium urban (population 10 000–100 000) | 4512 (11.3) | 848 (11.3) | 0.002 |
| Small town (population < 10 000) | 5754 (14.3) | 1170 (15.6) | 0.035 |
| Most responsible diagnosis | |||
| Ischemic stroke | 10 035 (25.0) | 1871 (24.9) | 0.002 |
| Transient ischemic attack | 30 063 (75.0) | 5632 (75.1) | 0.002 |
| ED hospital type | |||
| Comprehensive stroke centre | 8041 (20.1) | 1758 (23.4) | 0.082 |
| Primary stroke centre | 7002 (17.5) | 1458 (19.4) | 0.051 |
| Nondesignated stroke centre | 25 055 (62.5) | 4287 (57.1) | 0.109 |
| Hypertension | 28 239 (70.4) | 4995 (66.6) | 0.083 |
| Diabetes | 12 458 (31.1) | 2367 (31.5) | 0.010 |
| Atrial fibrillation | 7015 (17.5) | 1203 (16.0) | 0.039 |
| Dyslipidemia | 16 028 (40.0) | 2880 (38.4) | 0.033 |
| History of stroke | 4202 (10.5) | 715 (9.5) | 0.032 |
| Coronary artery disease | 5915 (14.8) | 984 (13.1) | 0.047 |
| Peripheral artery disease | 1374 (3.4) | 194 (2.6) | 0.049 |
| Baseline medication use | |||
| Antihypertensive | 20 652 (51.5) | 3827 (51.0) | 0.010 |
| Antihyperlipidemic | 17 320 (43.2) | 3388 (45.2) | 0.039 |
| Antihyperglycemic | 5737 (14.3) | 1146 (15.3) | 0.027 |