Prevalence and Characteristics of Telehealth Utilization in the United States

Fischer, Shira H.; Ray, Kristin N.; Mehrotra, Ateev; Bloom, Erika Litvin; Uscher‐Pines, Lori

doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.22302

Cited by 158 publications

(127 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Our study indicates that Blacks are more likely to use and access telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic than other races, which can show how telemedicine can be a vital opportunity to reduce disparities. Previous study discuss that Blacks were more likely to report they did not know how to use videoconferencing visits (10). Although the mechanism of this study cannot confirm this contradiction, this difference can be due to the type of telehealth or diseases.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 60%

“…The copyright holder for this preprint this version posted March 2, 2021. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.03.01.21252330 doi: medRxiv preprint because they are disproportionately affected by multiple chronic diseases (9). A recent study in 2020 indicates that half of the sample were willing to use videoconferencing visits, and individuals who were older than 65 years (OR, 0.51) or had less education (OR, 0.37) were less likely to express willingness to have a telehealth appointment (10). Previous research shows that it is highly likely to have health disparities in non-metropolitan areas, and rural hospitals were less likely to use telehealth systems, such as checking patients' health information online (11).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Does Telemedicine Reduce health disparities? Longitudinal Evidence during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the US

Roghani

Panahi

2021

Preprint

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Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic could be a significant health issue for the elderly population and those with pre-excising chronic condition. In response to the pandemic health care services have increased the use of telehealth medicine. The propose of this study is to examine factors associated with access to telemedicine before and after COVID-19 based on sociodemographic factors and type of chronic disease. Method: We have used data from the Research and Development Survey (RANDS) at two different time points Data collection for the first wave occurred between June 9, 2020 and July 6, 2020 (n= 6786), second wave was between August 3, 2020 and August 20, 2020 (n=5972). Three questions have been asked from the participant: 1) did the provider offer telemedicine before the pandemic? 2) does the provider offer telemedicine during the pandemic? And 3) have the participants schedule telemedicine appointments? Result: In both waves, 62 % of the participants reported providers did not have telemedicine services prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, we found a 22% increase in offering telemedicine in six first month of the COVID-19 pandemic. The finding shows almost no change in providing telemedicine between June and August. The data indicates just a 0.5% and 0.1% increase in accessing telemedicine, and scheduling in August than June, respectively. Patients older than 65 had higher access to telemedicine and had higher scheduling frequencies than other age groups, while they had the lowest access prior to the COVID-19. Blacks had the highest access to telemedicine services than other races (40%). Additionally, females, higher education, and living in metropolitan areas were associated with higher access and scheduling during the pandemic. There was a variation of access and scheduling in different chronic diseases, however, providers offered more remote services for those who diagnosed by diabetes. Conclusion: The aim of telemedicine is to reduce disparities in healthcare access. The findings of this study show telemedicine has reduced racial disparities and provided greater accessibility for older groups. However, spatial and educational disparities are still noticeable. Research is necessary to examine how healthcare must address the socioeconomic heterogeneity in telemedicine by avoiding further disparities. Key terms: COVID-19, Telemedicine, health disparities, chronic condition, access to care

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 60%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does Telemedicine Reduce health disparities? Longitudinal Evidence during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the US

Roghani

Panahi

2021

Preprint

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“…In contrast to the telephone, specific telemedical apps/tools are only rarely used to communicate with a doctor in Austria, and are therefore not (yet) relevant. This contrasts with the situation, for example, in the United States, where a recent study encompassing 2555 respondents revealed that 50.8% of them used a non-telephone telehealth modality, including 31.9% making use of patient portals and 4.2% of videoconferencing tools [ 27 ]. On the background of the lower popularity of more specialized telehealth tools in Austria, taking a “modern approach” just for the sake of being modern apparently seems unimportant, with only 1.4% of respondents who had received and were content with their telemedical care saying they were satisfied because of the modern approach ( Figure 1 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Telehealth in Times of COVID-19: Spotlight on Austria

et al. 2021

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Introduction: With the spread of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the world has been experiencing an extraordinary state of emergency. As patients entering a doctor’s practice can potentially infect medical staff and other patients, using digital alternatives wherever possible is a potential solution to avoiding face-to-face encounters. In these conditions, telemedicine is becoming increasingly relevant. Hence, the aim of this study was to examine telemedicine use and gathered experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic in Austria. Materials and Methods: In June 2020, a representative group of Austrian respondents (n = 1000) was asked via online survey whether they had contacted a doctor during spring of 2020, and, if so, whether they had used a telemedical method to do so. The survey also reflected gathered experiences and degrees of satisfaction with the use of telemedicine. Results: A third (33%) of those who contacted a doctor during the target period did so using telemedical tools. The majority of those with previous telehealth experience were satisfied with the help they received. Patients commonly used a telephone to contact their doctors. The overall assessment of telemedical aids tended to be positive, with more than half (53%) of those surveyed seeing significant advantages, and a 90% satisfaction rate among the respondents who used telehealth services. Conclusion: The outcomes from this work hint at fairly high acceptance of telemedical communication tools in the studied group of the Austrian population. Based on the high rate of satisfaction among patients who used telehealth, it is expected that the use of telehealth services will increase further in the near future.

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“…Between mid-March and early May 2020, telehealth was used by over 40% of patients with a chronic physical health condition (including almost 14% having done so by video) and over 50% of those with a behavioral health condition (30% by video) or seeking care for a new health condition (21% by video). A 2019 ALP study found that less than 4% of Americans had a video telehealth visit in the past year 6 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Transition to Telehealth during the First Months of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from a National Sample of Patients

et al. 2021

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A s the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted in-person medical care, emergency regulatory changes were implemented to promote use of telehealth, 1 moving this previously peripheral practice to the center of health care delivery in the USA. One study of private health care claims found that telemedicine claims were 4000% higher in March 2020 than in March 2019. 2 Information on use of telehealth by patients can inform post-pandemic policy. METHODSThe American Life Panel (ALP) is based on a probabilitybased representative sample of the US adult population age 20 and over who are provided with internet-connected devices and paid for survey participation. Data in this study come from the ALP Survey on Impacts of COVID-19, which was fielded between May 1 and 6, 2020. Two thousand fifty-two of the 2622 sampled panel members completed the survey (78% participation rate). 3 Respondents were asked if they were receiving treatment for a chronic physical or behavioral health condition when the pandemic began or if they considered seeking care for a new or recurring condition during the pandemic. For each condition type, respondents were asked about phone or video telehealth use due to the pandemic. Analyses used sampling weights to account for non-response and match sample demographics to the US population. 4 Study procedures were approved by the RAND IRB. RESULTSThe sample of 2052 was, after weighting, 51.9% female, almost equally divided by age group (20-39, 40-59, and 60 and older), and 63.9% white, with 94.2% insured. When the

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Prevalence and Characteristics of Telehealth Utilization in the United States

Cited by 158 publications

References 7 publications

Does Telemedicine Reduce health disparities? Longitudinal Evidence during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the US

Does Telemedicine Reduce health disparities? Longitudinal Evidence during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the US

Telehealth in Times of COVID-19: Spotlight on Austria

The Transition to Telehealth during the First Months of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from a National Sample of Patients

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