Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: Aug 27, 2020
Date Accepted: Mar 25, 2021
Date Submitted to PubMed: May 11, 2021
Telehealth use by age and race at a single academic medical center during COVID-19
ABSTRACT
Background:
During the coronavirus-2019 pandemic, many ambulatory clinics transitioned to telehealth but how this may have exacerbated inequitable access to care has not been described.
Objective:
Given potential barriers faced by different populations, we tested whether telehealth use was consistent and equitable across age, race, and gender.
Methods:
Retrospective cohort study of outpatient visits between March 2, 2020, and June 10, 2020, compared with the same time period in 2019, in a single academic health center in Boston, MA. Visits were divided into in-person visits versus telehealth and then compared by racial designation, gender, and age.
Results:
In our academic medical center, using a retrospective cohort analysis of ambulatory care delivered between March 2 and June 10, 2020, we found over half (57.6%) of all visits used telehealth and both Black and white patients accessed telehealth more than Asian patients.
Conclusions:
We found that the rapid implementation of telehealth did not follow prior patterns of healthcare disparities.
Citation
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