Early impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on in-person outpatient care utilisation: a rapid review (original) (raw)

ObjectivesTo quantitatively assess the early impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on in-person outpatient care utilisation worldwide, as well as across categories of services, types of care and medical specialties.DesignRapid review.MethodA search of MEDLINE and Embase was conducted to identify studies published from 1 January 2020 to 12 February 2021, which quantitatively reported the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the amount of outpatient care services delivered (in-person visits, diagnostic/screening procedures and treatments). There was no restriction on the type of medical care (emergency/primary/specialty care) or target population (adult/paediatric). All articles presenting primary data from studies reporting on outpatient care utilisation were included. Studies describing conditions requiring hospitalisation or limited to telehealth services were excluded.ResultsA total of 517 articles reporting 1011 outpatient care utilisation measures in 49 countries worldwide were eligible...