Sociodemographic differences in patient experience with virtual care during COVID-19

Abstract

Purpose: We sought to understand patients care-seeking behaviours during the pandemic, their use and views of different virtual care modalities, and whether these differed by sociodemographic factors. Methods: We conducted a multi-site cross-sectional patient experience survey at thirteen academic primary care teaching practices between May and June of 2020. An anonymized link to an electronic survey was sent to a subset of patients with a valid email address on file; sampling was based on birth month. For each question, the proportion of respondents who selected each response was calculated, followed by a comparison by sociodemographic characteristics using chi-squared tests. Results: In total, 7482 participants responded to the survey. Most received care from their primary care clinic during the pandemic (67.7%, 5068/7482), the majority via phone (82.5%, 4195/5086). Among those who received care, 30.53% (1509/4943) stated that they delayed seeking care because of the pandemic. Most participants reported a high degree of comfort with phone (92.4%, 3824/4139), video (95.2%, 238/250) and email or messaging (91.3%, 794/870). However, those reporting difficulty making ends meet, poor or fair health, and arriving in Canada in the last 10 years reported lower levels of comfort with virtual care and fewer wanted their practice to continue offering virtual options after the pandemic. Conclusions: Our study suggest that newcomers, people living with a lower income, and those reporting poor or fair health have a stronger preference and comfort for in-person primary care. Further research should explore potential barriers to virtual care and how these could be addressed.

Characteristics and healthcare use of patients attending virtual walk-in clinics: a cross-sectional analysis

“…Since then, the majority of publicly-funded virtual visits are conducted by phone. 25,26 Asynchronous visits, provided by email or text message, were not covered by provincial insurance.…”

Keeping doors open: A cross-sectional survey of family physician practice patterns during COVID-19, needs, and intentions

“…31 Physicians in our study also wanted support for patients to engage in virtual care which aligns with research that has found virtual care leaves some groups of patients behind. [32][33][34] COVID-19 has also highlighted the variation in primary care infrastructure and accountability. In our study, more physicians who worked alone in a clinic reported not seeing patients in-person, not seeing symptomatic patients, or considering closing their practice in the next 5 years compared to physicians who worked in groups with more than 5 physicians.…”