Racial Differences in Patient-Reported Access to Telehealth: An Important and Unmeasured Social Determinant of Health

Abstract

Racial disparities exist in access to video telehealth services.

Comparing effectiveness of residential versus intensive virtual treatment for veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder.

“…Second, VIOPP was less racially diverse compared to P-RRTP. Although general telehealth use increased for all racial/ethnic groups during the COVID-19 pandemic, racial/ethnic minority groups were the least likely to use telehealth (Bustamante et al, 2023; Govier et al, 2022; Iasiello et al, 2023; White-Williams et al, 2023). This may, in part, be a result of discrepancies in insurance coverage (Bustamante et al, 2023); however, this is less applicable to the present patient population, as patients in our sample were Veterans receiving healthcare through the VA. One potential explanation for the present data is disparity in access to the necessary technology to complete the program, or in comfort with technology.…”

Precision Accelerated Clinically Embedded Research (PACER): A Model Architecture for Supporting Rapid Scalable Point-of-Care Research

“…First, patients need to have access to adequate technology. Minority groups are less likely to have access to broadband, 64 smart phones, and EHR portals. 64,65 Moreover, as stated above, participants from minority groups expressed concern about portal use and preferred closer relationships with their provider.…”

“…Minority groups are less likely to have access to broadband, 64 smart phones, and EHR portals. 64,65 Moreover, as stated above, participants from minority groups expressed concern about portal use and preferred closer relationships with their provider. 11 Finally, directto-patient queries do not support the ability to perform a trained examination of a physical sign.…”