Utilization of preventive health services and diagnostic tests declined in 2020

 Overall use of care declined as patients limited their health care visits in response to social distancing requirements and federal recommendations to avoid “non-essential” care early in the pandemic,[20] and as health centers dealt with limited operational and staff capacity. In April 2020, at their worst reported levels, 16 percent of health center sites were closed and 16 percent of health center staff members were unable to work for reasons ranging from lacking personal protective equipment to being ill with COVID-19; over the year from April 2020 to April 2021, nearly 41,000 staff members had confirmed cases of the COVID-19 virus.[21]

As Table 3 shows, the number of health center patients who received preventive services or diagnostic tests decreased most substantially from 2019 to 2020 for eye exams, selected immunizations, Pap tests to screen for cervical cancer, and childhood lead test screenings. As service utilization and visits decreased from 2019 to 2020, health centers’ performance on certain clinical quality measures also declined.[22] While performance on childhood immunizations and early entry into prenatal care remained stable, performance on quality measures for cervical cancer screening, colorectal cancer screening, and dental sealants for children declined between 2019 and 2020 (Figure 9). Some of these findings are in line with national trends of decreased service utilization for children enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP; from March to October 2020, vaccinations for children under age two, child screening services, and dental services for children fell by nine percent, 21 percent, and 39 percent, respectively, compared to service utilization for that same period of time in 2019.[23]

  Table 3

Figure 9