ArticleBMJ open2021
Trends in healthcare utilisation during COVID-19: a longitudinal study from the UK.
Article in BMJ open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 34 papers.
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
34 citing papers in PubMed.
- Effect of a test-and-treat approach to vitamin D supplementation on risk of all cause acute respiratory tract infection and covid-19: phase 3 randomised controlled trial (CORONAVIT).BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2022Trial
- Changes in usual source of care utilization during the COVID-19 pandemic: a comparative analysis by chronic disease status.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- The desirable health indicator: a new indicator of population health and healthcare utilisation.International journal of population data science · 2026Article
- Trends in Medication Use Among Young Adults and the Covid-19 Pandemic Effect.Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety · 2025Article
- Current Trends in Computed Tomography Practices in Japan and the Role of Referring Physicians in Radiation Exposure Management.Internal medicine (Tokyo, Japan) · 2025Article
- The prolonged impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on routine childhood vaccinations in Armenia: a time-series analysis.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Economic burden of cardiovascular disease in the United Kingdom.European heart journal. Quality of care & clinical outcomes · 2025Article
- Impact of COVID-19 on healthcare programs in Zimbabwe: a mixed methods study.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Health and social care use, costs, and satisfaction among key workers accessing Resilience Hub support during the COVID-19 pandemic.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Trends in hospitalization for female breast and gynecological cancer in China from 2004 to 2020.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Informatics assessment of COVID-19 data collection: an analysis of UK Biobank questionnaire data.BMC medical informatics and decision making · 2024Article
- A tale of two times: an exploration of healthcare utilization patterns before and during COVID-19 in Iran.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Time series analysis of COVID-19's impact on physician and dentist visits in Iran.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Utilisation, out-of-pocket payments and access before and after COVID-19: Thailand's Universal Health Coverage Scheme.BMJ global health · 2024Review
- The impact of COVID-19 on psychiatric clinical encounters among low-income racially-diverse children.Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines · 2024Article
- The cost of keeping patients waiting: retrospective treatment-control study of additional healthcare utilisation for UK patients awaiting elective treatment.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- Non-COVID-19 hospitalization and mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic in Iran: a longitudinal assessment of 41 million people in 2019-2022.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Temporal trend in hospitalizations for malignant neoplasm and benign neoplasm: a nationwide study, China, 2004-2020.BMC cancer · 2024Article
- Outpatient Health Service Utilization Among Adults with Diabetes, Hypertension and Cardiovascular Disease During the COVID-19 Pandemic - Results of Population-Based Surveys in Germany from 2019 to 2021.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2024Article
- Healthcare utilization and associated factors during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana: A cross-sectional survey.Health science reports · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveThe first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic had a major impact on healthcare utilisation. The aim of this retrospective review was to quantify how utilisation of non-COVID care changed during this time so as to gain insight and inform planning of future services during potential second and subsequent waves. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A longitudinal design was used to analyse anonymous private UK health insurer datasets covering the period of January 2018 to August 2020. Taken as a measure of healthcare utilisation in the UK, incidence rates of claims broken down by service area and condition were calculated alongside overall monthly totals and costs. Pre-COVID-19 years were compared with the current year.
resultsHealthcare utilisation during the first wave of COVID-19 decreased by as much as 70% immediately after lockdown measures were implemented. After 2 months, the trend reversed and claims steadily began to increase, but did not reach rates seen from previous years by the end of August 2020. Assessment by service and diagnostic category showed that most areas, especially those highly reliant on in-person treatment, reflected the same pattern (ie, rapid drop followed by a steady recovery). The provision of mental health services differed from this observed trend, where utilisation increased by 20% during the first wave of COVID-19, in comparison to pre-COVID-19 years. The utilisation of maternity services and the treatment of existing cancers also stayed stable, or increased slightly, during this time.
conclusionsHealthcare utilisation in a UK-based privately insured population decreased dramatically during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, being over 70% lower at its height. However, mental health services remained resilient during this time, possibly due to greater virtualisation of diagnostics and care.
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