Telemedicine and health disparities: Association between patient characteristics and telemedicine, in-person, telephone and message-based care during the COVID-19 pandemic
Telemedicine has been an essential form of care since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, telemedicine may exacerbate disparities for populations with limited digital literacy or access, such as older adults, racial minorities, patients of low income, rural residences, or limited English pr...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2022-11-01
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| Series: | IPEM-Translation |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667258822000073 |
| _version_ | 1827373898223583232 |
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| author | Ling Tong Ben George Bradley H. Crotty Melek Somai Bradley W. Taylor Kristen Osinski Jake Luo |
| author_facet | Ling Tong Ben George Bradley H. Crotty Melek Somai Bradley W. Taylor Kristen Osinski Jake Luo |
| author_sort | Ling Tong |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Telemedicine has been an essential form of care since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, telemedicine may exacerbate disparities for populations with limited digital literacy or access, such as older adults, racial minorities, patients of low income, rural residences, or limited English proficiency. From March 2020 to March 2022, this retrospective cohort study analyzed the use of in-person, phone/message, and telemedical care at a single tertiary care center in an oncology department. We investigated the association between economic, racial, ethnic, socioeconomic factors and forms of care, including in-person visits, telemedicine-based visits, and telephone/messages. The study results show that telemedicine utilization is lower among patients 65 and older, female patients, American Indian or Alaska Native patients, uninsured patients, and patients who require interpreters during clinical visits. As a result, it is unlikely that telemedicine will provide equal access to clinical care for all populations. On the other hand, in-person care utilization remains low in low-income and rural-living patients compared to the general population, while telephone and message use remains high in low-income and rural-living patients. We conclude that telemedicine is currently unable to close the utilization gap for populations of low socioeconomic status. Patients with low socioeconomic status use in-person care less frequently. For the disadvantaged, unusually high telephone or message utilization is unlikely to provide the same quality as in-person or telemedical care. Understanding the causes of disparity and promoting a solution to improve equal access to care for all patients is critical. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T11:24:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-30cc28283d814f46aabe499ee8a46be9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2667-2588 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T11:24:30Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | IPEM-Translation |
| spelling | doaj.art-30cc28283d814f46aabe499ee8a46be92024-01-26T05:35:43ZengElsevierIPEM-Translation2667-25882022-11-013100010Telemedicine and health disparities: Association between patient characteristics and telemedicine, in-person, telephone and message-based care during the COVID-19 pandemicLing Tong0Ben George1Bradley H. Crotty2Melek Somai3Bradley W. Taylor4Kristen Osinski5Jake Luo6University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Department of Health Informatics and Administration, United StatesMedical College of Wisconsin, Clinical and Translational Science Institute of Southeastern Wisconsin, Froedtert Hospital, United StatesMedical College of Wisconsin, Clinical and Translational Science Institute of Southeastern Wisconsin, United StatesMedical College of Wisconsin, Clinical and Translational Science Institute of Southeastern Wisconsin, United StatesMedical College of Wisconsin, Clinical and Translational Science Institute of Southeastern Wisconsin, United StatesMedical College of Wisconsin, Clinical and Translational Science Institute of Southeastern Wisconsin, United StatesUniversity of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Department of Health Informatics and Administration, United States; Corresponding author at: Department of Health Informatics and Administration, College of Health Sciences, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Postal Address: 2025 E Newport Ave 6469, WI, 53211, Milwaukee, United StatesTelemedicine has been an essential form of care since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, telemedicine may exacerbate disparities for populations with limited digital literacy or access, such as older adults, racial minorities, patients of low income, rural residences, or limited English proficiency. From March 2020 to March 2022, this retrospective cohort study analyzed the use of in-person, phone/message, and telemedical care at a single tertiary care center in an oncology department. We investigated the association between economic, racial, ethnic, socioeconomic factors and forms of care, including in-person visits, telemedicine-based visits, and telephone/messages. The study results show that telemedicine utilization is lower among patients 65 and older, female patients, American Indian or Alaska Native patients, uninsured patients, and patients who require interpreters during clinical visits. As a result, it is unlikely that telemedicine will provide equal access to clinical care for all populations. On the other hand, in-person care utilization remains low in low-income and rural-living patients compared to the general population, while telephone and message use remains high in low-income and rural-living patients. We conclude that telemedicine is currently unable to close the utilization gap for populations of low socioeconomic status. Patients with low socioeconomic status use in-person care less frequently. For the disadvantaged, unusually high telephone or message utilization is unlikely to provide the same quality as in-person or telemedical care. Understanding the causes of disparity and promoting a solution to improve equal access to care for all patients is critical.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667258822000073TelemedicineOncologyRemote CareHealth Disparity |
| spellingShingle | Ling Tong Ben George Bradley H. Crotty Melek Somai Bradley W. Taylor Kristen Osinski Jake Luo Telemedicine and health disparities: Association between patient characteristics and telemedicine, in-person, telephone and message-based care during the COVID-19 pandemic IPEM-Translation Telemedicine Oncology Remote Care Health Disparity |
| title | Telemedicine and health disparities: Association between patient characteristics and telemedicine, in-person, telephone and message-based care during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_full | Telemedicine and health disparities: Association between patient characteristics and telemedicine, in-person, telephone and message-based care during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_fullStr | Telemedicine and health disparities: Association between patient characteristics and telemedicine, in-person, telephone and message-based care during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_full_unstemmed | Telemedicine and health disparities: Association between patient characteristics and telemedicine, in-person, telephone and message-based care during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_short | Telemedicine and health disparities: Association between patient characteristics and telemedicine, in-person, telephone and message-based care during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_sort | telemedicine and health disparities association between patient characteristics and telemedicine in person telephone and message based care during the covid 19 pandemic |
| topic | Telemedicine Oncology Remote Care Health Disparity |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667258822000073 |
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