Parent, physician, and therapist experience of in-person, hybrid, and all-virtual models of physiatry care for children with special healthcare needs.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to compare three models of pediatric physiatry care (in-person, hybrid, and all-virtual) in terms of parent experience and physician- and therapist-reported quality of care. We hypothesized that the all-virtual model would have lower parent experience scores and lower quality scores compared with the other two models of care. METHODS: We designed a convergent parallel mixed methods study incorporating a cluster-randomized crossover design. Quantitative data included surveys of parents, physicians, and therapists after visits to 13 medical therapy units in Northern California between January 2020 and January 2022. Qualitative data were collected in six focus groups with parents, physicians, and therapists. RESULTS: A total of 2,455 visits were completed for 1,281 unique children during the study period, including 507 in-person visits, 246 hybrid visits, and 1,702 all-virtual visits. There were no differences in parent experience scores between the three models of care. Physicians and therapists rated all-virtual visits significantly lower in terms of quality of care, parent education, and physical exam, compared with the other two models of care, but qualitative results highlighted specific instances where all-virtual visits could be useful. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that parents, therapists, and physicians find a hybrid virtual model is an acceptable model of care that maintains the quality of care and facilitates parent education. All-virtual models may be appropriate for specific circumstances but are perceived as lower quality. Research exploring implementation of these models would be valuable for providing practical guidance in the future. WHAT'S NEW: This study is the first to compare three models of pediatric physiatry care (in-person, hybrid, all-virtual) from the perspectives of parents, physicians, and therapists. Qualitative data provides insights into the perceptions of these different stakeholders.

Adapting telehealth to address health equity: Perspectives of primary care providers across the United States.

BACKGROUND: Telehealth has the potential to increase access to care for medically underserved patients. This qualitative study aimed to identify telecare practices used during the COVID-19 pandemic to meet the needs of patients experiencing homelessness, patients with disabilities, and patients with language preference other than English (LOE). METHODS: We conducted a secondary qualitative data analysis of 47 clinician interviews at Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) around the country. Using thematic analysis, transcripts were coded by line-by-line by five qualitative researchers. A multidisciplinary team of telehealth experts, researchers and primary care clinicians reviewed memos and excerpts to generate major themes. RESULTS: We identified six main areas demonstrating how community providers developed strategies or practices to improve access to care for vulnerable patients: reaching patients experiencing homelessness, serving deaf and hard of hearing patients, improving access for patients with disabilities, serving patients with LOE, improving access for mental and behavioral health services, and educating patients about telehealth. During the pandemic, FQHCs developed innovative solutions to provide access to care for the unhoused, including using telehealth in shelters, vans, and distributing devices like mobile phones and tablets. Telehealth reduced transportation burdens for patients with disabilities and reduced no-show rates for mental health services by adapting group therapy via telehealth features (like break-out rooms) and increasing provider capacity. CONCLUSION: Our study identified strategies adopted by FQHCs to serve underserved populations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings highlight the need for enduring strategies to improve health equity through telehealth..

Patient and Parent Experience with Pediatric Care Providers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Comparison of Press Ganey Survey Scores for Telehealth and In-Person Encounters.

Background: Prior research suggests that pediatric patients and their parents/guardians are generally satisfied with care provided through telehealth. The objective of this study was to compare Press Ganey provider-oriented experience survey scores between telehealth and in-person patient encounters among a variety of pediatric clinical specialties at a large academic medical center. Methods: We analyzed Press Ganey survey data from pediatric patient encounters from UC Davis Health, collected between August 2020 and February 2022. Survey results analyzed respondents' satisfaction with care providers, including satisfaction with explanations given, discussions led, concern showed, and inclusion by providers; and the likelihood the survey respondent would recommend the provider to others. We used logistic regression models, which included case mix variables and clinical specialty to compare the odds of scoring the highest possible survey response ("top box" score). Results: Of the 6,093 survey responses that met inclusion criteria, 1,157 (19%) were associated with telehealth encounters and 4,936 (81%) were associated with in-person encounters. We found no significant difference in the odds of respondents giving a top box score to rate their satisfaction with their care provider between telehealth and in-person encounters. When respondents were asked whether they would recommend the care provider to others, the odds of giving a top box score following a telehealth encounter relative to an in-person encounter was 1.22 (95% confidence interval [0.97-1.52]; p-value = 0.09). Discussion: We found that survey respondents' experiences with their care provider are high and comparable for telehealth and in-person encounters in a pediatric population.

Using human-centered design to develop a nurse-to-family telehealth intervention for pediatric transfers.

Objective: To develop a nurse-to-family telehealth intervention for pediatric inter-facility transfers using the human-centered design approach. Methods: We conducted the inspiration and ideation phases of a human-centered design process from July 2022 to December 2022. For the inspiration phase, we conducted a qualitative cross-sectional case study design over 3 months. We used thematic analysis with the framework approach of parent and provider interviews. Five team members individually coded transcripts and then met to discuss memos, update a construct summary sheet, and identify emerging themes. The team adapted themes into "How Might We" statements. For the ideation phase, multidisciplinary stakeholders brainstormed solutions to the "How Might We" statements in a design workshop. Workshop findings informed the design of a nurse-to-family telehealth intervention, which was iteratively revised over 2 months based on stakeholder feedback sessions. Results: We conducted interviews with nine parents, 11 nurses, and 13 physicians. Four themes emerged supporting the promise of a nurse-to-family telehealth intervention, the need to effectively communicate the intervention purpose, the value of a user-friendly workflow, and the essentiality of ensuring that diverse populations equitably benefit from the intervention. "How Might We" statements were discussed among 22 total workshop participants. Iterative adaptations were made to the intervention until feedback from workshop participants and 67 other stakeholders supported no further improvements were needed. Conclusion: Human-centered design phases facilitated stakeholder engagement in developing a nurse-to-family telehealth intervention. This intervention will be tested in an implementation phase as a feasibility and pilot trial.

Impact of Tele-Emergency Consultations on Pediatric Interfacility Transfers: A Cluster-Randomized Crossover Trial.

Importance: Pediatric referral centers are increasingly using telemedicine to provide consultations to help care for acutely ill children presenting to rural and community emergency departments (EDs). These pediatric telemedicine consultations may help improve physician decision-making and may reduce the frequency of overtriage and interfacility transfers. Objective: To examine the use of pediatric critical care telemedicine vs telephone consultations associated with risk-adjusted transfer rates of acutely ill children from community and rural EDs. Design, Setting, and Participants: A cluster-randomized crossover trial was conducted between November 18, 2015, and March 26, 2018. Analyses were conducted from January 19, 2018, to July 23, 2022, 2022. Participants included acutely ill children aged 14 years and younger presenting to a participating ED in 15 rural and community EDs in northern California. Interventions: Participating EDs were randomized to use telemedicine or telephone for consultations with pediatric critical care physicians according to 1 of 4 unbalanced (3 telemedicine:1 telephone) crossover treatment assignment sequences. Main Outcomes and Measures: Intention-to-treat, treatment-received, and per-protocol analyses were performed to determine the risk of transfer using mixed effects Poisson regression analyses with random intercepts for presenting EDs to account for hospital-level clustering. Results: A total of 696 children (392 boys [56.3%]; mean [SD] age, 4.2 [4.6] years) were enrolled. Of the 537 children (77.2%) assigned to telemedicine, 251 (46.7%) received the intervention. In the intention-to-treat analysis, patients assigned to the telemedicine arm were less likely to be transferred compared with patients assigned to the telephone arm after adjusting for patient age, severity of illness, and hospital study period (risk rate [RR], 0.93; 95% CI, 0.88-0.99). The adjusted risk of transfer was significantly lower in the telemedicine arm compared with the telephone arm in both the treatment-received analysis (RR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.71-0.94) and the per-protocol analysis (RR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.68-0.92). Conclusions and Relevance: In this randomized trial, the use of telemedicine to conduct consultations for acutely ill children in rural and community EDs resulted in less frequent overall interfacility transfers than consultations done by telephone. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02877810.

Patient Satisfaction with Care Providers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Analysis of Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Survey Scores for In-Person and Telehealth Encounters at an Academic Medical Center.

Background: Previous research has demonstrated high patient satisfaction with telehealth encounters. The objective of this study was to compare patient satisfaction scores regarding their physician using the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS®) surveys between in-person and telehealth outpatient encounters during the pandemic at a large academic health center. Methods: We analyzed CAHPS patient satisfaction survey data within the UC Davis Health system between August 2020 and February 2022. The questions analyzed pertained to patients' satisfaction with their care provider; whether they felt included in discussions, would recommend their physician, received clear explanations, and that their concerns were heard. Using logistic regression models adjusting for confounders, we compared CAHPS care provider top box scores-a score of 4 or 5 on the 5-point scale-for 5 survey items. Results: Survey results from 76,687 (84.2%) in-person encounters and 14,404 (15.8%) telehealth encounters were evaluated. The odds of a telehealth patient giving a top box score for whether they would recommend their care provider to others were 0.97 those of an in-person patient (95% confidence interval [0.87-1.06]; p = 0.494). Similarly, there was no significant difference in odds of giving a top box score between telehealth and in-person patients for the other four questions analyzed. Discussion: Our findings indicate that patient experience and care provider rankings for in-person care and telehealth care are comparable across a variety of specialties and conditions at a large academic health center. Future studies should investigate patient satisfaction with in-person and telehealth encounters by diagnosis and specialty.

Impact of telemedicine on visit attendance for paediatric patients receiving endocrinology specialty care.

BACKGROUND: Children in rural communities often lack access to subspecialty medical care. Telemedicine has the potential to improve access to these services but its effectiveness has not been rigorously evaluated for paediatric patients with endocrine conditions besides diabetes. INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study was to assess the association between telemedicine and visit attendance among patients who received care from paediatric endocrinologists at an academic medical centre in northern California between 2009-2017. METHODS: We abstracted demographic data, encounter information and medical diagnoses from the electronic health record for patients ≤18 years of age who attended at least one in-person or telemedicine encounter with a paediatric endocrinologist during the study period. We used a mixed effects logistic regression model - adjusted for age, diagnosis and distance from subspecialty care - to explore the association between telemedicine and visit attendance. RESULTS: A total of 40,941 encounters from 5083 unique patients were included in the analysis. Patients who scheduled telemedicine visits were predominantly publicly insured (97%) and lived a mean distance of 161 miles from the children's hospital. Telemedicine was associated with a significantly higher odds of visit attendance (odds ratio 2.55, 95% confidence interval 2.15-3.02, p < 0.001) compared to in-person care. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that telemedicine is associated with higher odds of visit attendance for paediatric endocrinology patients and supports the conclusion that use of telemedicine may improve access to subspecialty care for rural and publicly insured paediatric populations.

Enhancing the Implementation of the Virtual Pediatric Trauma Center Using Practical, Robust, Implementation and Sustainability Model: A Mixed-Methods Study.

Background: This article describes factors related to adoption, implementation, and effectiveness of the Virtual Pediatric Trauma Center intervention, which uses telehealth for trauma specialist consultations for seriously injured children. We aimed at (1) measuring RE-AIM (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance) implementation outcomes and (2) identifying PRISM (Practical, Robust, Implementation, and Sustainability Model) contextual factors that influenced the implementation outcomes. Methods: This interim implementation evaluation of our telehealth trial used a convergent mixed-methods design. The quantitative component was a cross-sectional analysis of pediatric trauma encounters using electronic health records. The qualitative component was a thematic analysis of written and verbal feedback from providers and family advisory board meetings. We compared the quantitative and qualitative data by synthesizing them in a joint display table, organized by RE-AIM dimensions. We categorized these key findings into the PRISM domains. Results: During the first 10 months of this trial, 246 subjects were randomized, with 177 assigned to standard care and 69 assigned to telehealth. Four referring sites transitioned from standard care into their intervention period. PRISM contextual factors that influenced RE-AIM implementation outcomes included the following findings: Providers struggle to remember, interpret, and navigate intervention workflows; providers have preconceived ideas about the intervention purpose; the intervention mitigates parents' anxieties about the transfer process. Discussion: This study revealed implementation challenges that influence the overall success of this telehealth trial. Early identification of these challenges allows our team the opportunity to address them now to optimize the intervention reach, adoption, and implementation. This early action will ultimately enhance the success of our trial and the ability of our intervention to achieve broad impact.

Pediatric Telemedicine: Lessons Learned During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic and Opportunities for Growth.

The accelerated uptake of telemedicine during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has resulted in valuable experience and evidence on the delivery of telemedicine for pediatric patients. The pandemic has also highlighted inequities and opportunities for improvement. This review discusses lessons learned during the pandemic, focusing on provider-to-patient virtual encounters. Recent evidence on education and training, developing and adapting clinical workflows, patient assessment and treatment, and family-centered care is reviewed. Opportunities for future research in pediatric telemedicine are discussed, specifically with regard to engaging pediatric patients, improving and measuring access to care, addressing health equity, and expanding the evidence base.

Analyzing a Cost-Effectiveness Dataset: A Speech and Language Example for Clinicians.

Cost-effectiveness analysis, the most common type of economic evaluation, estimates a new option's additional outcome in relation to its extra costs. This is crucial to study within the clinical setting because funding for new treatments and interventions is often linked to whether there is evidence showing they are a good use of resources. This article describes how to analyze a cost-effectiveness dataset using the framework of a net benefit regression. The process of creating estimates and characterizing uncertainty is demonstrated using a hypothetical dataset. The results are explained and illustrated using graphs commonly employed in cost-effectiveness analyses. We conclude with a call to action for researchers to do more person-level cost-effectiveness analysis to produce evidence of the value of new treatments and interventions. Researchers can utilize cost-effectiveness analysis to compare new and existing treatment mechanisms.

Resources for Improving Pediatric Readiness and Quality of Care in Rural Communities and Emergency Departments.

OBJECTIVES: To share the process and products of an 8-year, federally funded grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration Emergency Medical Services for Children program to increase pediatric emergency readiness and quality of care provided in rural communities located within 2 underserved local emergency medical services agencies (LEMSAs) in Northern California. METHODS: In 2 multicounty LEMSAs with 24 receiving hospital emergency departments, we conducted focus groups and interviews with patients and parents, first responders, receiving hospital personnel, and other community stakeholders. From this, we (a regional, urban children's hospital) provided a variety of resources for improving the regionalization and quality of pediatric emergency care provided by prehospital providers and healthcare staff at receiving hospitals in these rural LEMSAs. RESULTS: From this project, we provided resources that included regularly scheduled pediatric-specific training and education programs, pediatric-specific quality improvement initiatives, expansion of telemedicine services, and cultural competency training. We also enhanced community engagement and investment in pediatric readiness. CONCLUSIONS: The resources we provided from our regional, urban children's hospital to 2 rural LEMSAs facilitated improvements in a regionalized system of care for critically ill and injured children. Our shared resources framework can be adapted by other regional children's hospitals to increase readiness and quality of pediatric emergency care in rural and underserved communities and LEMSAs.

Economic Evaluation of Telemedicine Consultations to Reduce Unnecessary Neonatal Care Transfers.

OBJECTIVES: To perform an economic evaluation to estimate the return on investment (ROI) of making available telemedicine consultations from a healthcare payer perspective, and to estimate the economic impacts of telemedicine under a hypothetical scenario in which all rural hospitals providing level I neonatal care in California had access to telemedicine consultations from neonatologists at level III and level IV neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). STUDY DESIGN: We developed standard decision models with assumptions derived from primary data and the literature. Telemedicine costs included equipment installation and operation costs. Probabilistic analysis with Monte Carlo simulation was performed to address model uncertainties and to estimate 95% probabilistic confidence intervals (PCIs). All costs were adjusted to 2017 US dollars using the Consumer Price Index. RESULTS: Our probabilistic analysis estimated the ROI to have a mean value of 2.23 (95% PCI, -0.7 to 6.0). That is, a $1 investment in this telemedicine model would yield a net medical expenditure saving of $1.23. "Cost saving" was observed for 75% of the hypothetical 1000 Monte Carlo simulations. For the state of California, the estimated mean annual net savings was $661 000. CONCLUSIONS: Providing telemedicine and making available consultations to rural hospitals providing level I neonatal care are likely to reduce medical expenditures by reducing potentially avoidable transfers of newborns to level III and IV NICUs, offsetting all telemedicine-related costs.

Association between emergency department pediatric readiness and transfer of noninjured children in small rural hospitals.

PURPOSE: Pediatric readiness scores may be a useful measure of a hospital's preparedness to care for children. However, there is limited evidence linking these scores with patient outcomes or other metrics, including the need for interfacility transfer. This study aims to determine the association of pediatric readiness scores with the odds of interfacility transfer among a cohort of noninjured children (< 18 years old) presenting to emergency departments (EDs) in small rural hospitals in the state of California. METHODS: Data from the National Pediatric Readiness Project assessment were linked with the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development's ED and inpatient databases to conduct a cross-sectional study of pediatric interfacility transfers. Hospitals were manually matched between these data sets. Logistic regression was performed with random intercepts for hospital and adjustment for patient-level confounders. FINDINGS: A total of 54 hospitals and 135,388 encounters met the inclusion criteria. EDs with a high pediatric readiness score (>70) had lower adjusted odds of transfer (aOR: 0.55, 95% CI: 0.33-0.93) than EDs with a low pediatric readiness score (≤ 70). The pediatric readiness section with strongest association with transfer was the "policies, procedures, and protocols" section; EDs in the highest quartile had lower odds of transfer than EDs in the lowest quartile (aOR: 0.54, 95% CI: 0.31-0.91). CONCLUSIONS: Pediatric patients presenting to EDs at small rural hospitals with high pediatric readiness scores may be less likely to be transferred. Additional studies are recommended to investigate other pediatric outcomes in relation to hospital ED pediatric readiness.

Parent Experience and Cost Savings Associated With a Novel Tele-physiatry Program for Children Living in Rural and Underserved Communities.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate parent and therapist experience and cost savings from the payer perspective associated with a novel tele-physiatry program for children living in rural and underserved communities. DESIGN: We designed a noninferiority, cluster-randomized crossover study at 4 school-based clinics to evaluate parent experience and perceived quality of care between a telemedicine-based approach in which the physiatrist conducts the visit remotely with an in-person therapist and a traditional in-person physiatrist clinic. SETTING: Four school-based clinics in Northern California. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 268 encounters (124 telemedicine and 144 in-person) were completed by 200 unique patients (N=200). INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Parent and therapist experience scores. RESULTS: For parents and therapists, experience and perceived quality of care were high with no significant differences between telemedicine and in-person encounters. For parents whose children received a telemedicine encounter, 40 (54.8%) reported no preference for their child's subsequent encounter, 21 (28.8%) preferred a physiatrist telemedicine visit, and 12 (16.4%) preferred a physiatrist in-person visit. From the payer perspective, costs were $100 higher for in-person clinics owing to physician mileage reimbursement. CONCLUSIONS: We found that school-based tele-physiatry for children with special health care needs is not inferior to in-person encounters with regard to parent and provider experience and perceived quality of care. Tele-physiatry was also associated with an average cost savings of $100 per clinic to the payer.

Telemedicine use for pediatric asthma care: a mixed methods study.

OBJECTIVES: To identify factors associated with telemedicine use for asthma care among children and young adults, and to describe the parent and patient experience of asthma care over telemedicine. METHODS: Our mixed methods study consisted of an electronic health record analysis and a qualitative focus group analysis. We analyzed records for all patients aged 2-24 seen at UC Davis Health between March 19, 2020 and September 30, 2020 for a primary diagnosis of asthma. We performed multivariable logistic regression to quantify the relationships between patient characteristics and telemedicine use. We also conducted focus groups with parents and patients who received asthma care during the study period and used qualitative content analysis to identify themes from the transcripts. RESULTS: 502 patients met the inclusion criteria. Telemedicine use was significantly lower among patients with a primary language other than English (OR = 0.12, 95% CI: 0.025-0.54, p = 0.006), school-aged children (OR = 0.43, 95% CI: 0.24-0.77, p = 0.005), and patients who received asthma care from a primary care provider instead of a specialist (OR = 0.55, 95% CI: 0.34-0.91, p = 0.020). Six thematic categories emerged from focus groups: engaging with the patient, improving access to care, experience of visit, measurements, scheduling, and the future of telemedicine in asthma care. CONCLUSIONS: Alternating telemedicine with in-person visits for asthma care may result in improved access to care and reduced burdens on patients and families. Providers and researchers should work to understand the specific reasons for low telemedicine use among non-English speaking patients so that these patients receive equitable access to care.

Emergency Department Pediatric Readiness and Potentially Avoidable Transfers.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the association between potentially avoidable transfers (PATs) and emergency department (ED) pediatric readiness scores and the score's associated components. STUDY DESIGN: This cross-sectional study linked the 2012 National Pediatric Readiness Project assessment with individual encounter data from California's statewide ED and inpatient databases during the years 2011-2013. A probabilistic linkage, followed by deterministic heuristics, linked pretransfer, and post-transfer encounters. Applying previously published definitions, a transferred child was considered a PAT if they were discharged within 1 day from the ED or inpatient care and had no specialized procedures. Analyses were stratified by injured and noninjured children. We compared PATs with necessary transfers using mixed-effects logistic regression models with random intercepts for hospital and adjustment for patient and hospital covariates. RESULTS: After linkage, there were 6765 injured children (27% PATs) and 18 836 noninjured children (14% PATs) who presented to 283 hospitals. In unadjusted analyses, a 10-point increase in pediatric readiness was associated with lower odds of PATs in both injured (OR 0.93, 95% CI 0.90-0.96) and noninjured children (OR 0.90, 95% CI 0.88-0.93). In adjusted analyses, a similar association was detected in injured patients (aOR 0.92, 95% CI 0.86-0.98) and was not detected in noninjured patients (aOR 0.94, 95% CI 0.88-1.00). Components associated with decreased PATs included having a nurse pediatric emergency care coordinator and a quality improvement plan. CONCLUSIONS: Hospital ED pediatric readiness is associated with lower odds of a PAT. Certain pediatric readiness components are modifiable risk factors that EDs could target to reduce PATs.

The Use of Telemedicine for Stabilization of Neonates Transferred from Rural Community Hospitals.

Background: For newborns requiring transfer to a higher level of care, stabilization before the arrival of the transport team is essential. Telemedicine consultations with a neonatologist may improve local providers' ability to stabilize a newborn during this critical interval. The purpose of this study was to describe the use of telemedicine for stabilizing newborns who were transferred from one of six rural hospitals to a regional neonatal intensive care unit in northern California and to examine the association between telemedicine use and time needed to stabilize the newborn. Materials and Methods: We collected data on all newborns who were transferred after either a telemedicine or telephone consultation with a neonatologist between April 2014 and June 2018. We used multiple regression to examine the association between the use of telemedicine and stabilization time, adjusting for gestational age, 5-min Apgar score, birth weight, site, and primary reason for consultation. Results: In total, 162 infants (77.5%) received a telephone consultation and 47 (22.5%) received a telemedicine consultation. Neonates who received telemedicine had a significantly greater severity of illness, as measured by mean 5-min Apgar score (6.9 vs. 7.8, p = 0.008) and Transport Risk Index of Physiologic Stability version II (TRIPS-II) score (14.4 vs. 6.0, p < 0.001). There was no significant difference in stabilization time for telemedicine consultations compared with telephone consultations in the adjusted analysis (adjusted mean difference: -1.80, 95% confidence interval: -16.0 to 12.4, p = 0.802). Conclusions: Although we found no difference in stabilization times between modes of consultation, telemedicine may be helpful for stabilizing infants with a higher severity of illness, particularly those in respiratory distress. Future studies should examine the impact of telemedicine on specific interventions.

Disparities in Telemedicine Use for Subspecialty Diabetes Care During COVID-19 Shelter-In-Place Orders.

BACKGROUND: During the COVID-19 pandemic, telemedicine use rapidly and dramatically increased for management of diabetes mellitus. It is unknown whether access to telemedicine care has been equitable during this time. This study aimed to identify patient-level factors associated with adoption of telemedicine for subspecialty diabetes care during the pandemic. METHODS: We conducted an explanatory sequential mixed-methods study using data from a single academic medical center. We used multivariate logistic regression to explore associations between telemedicine use and demographic factors for patients receiving subspecialty diabetes care between March 19 and June 30, 2020. We then surveyed a sample of patients who received in-person care to understand why these patients did not use telemedicine. RESULTS: Among 1292 patients who received subspecialty diabetes care during the study period, those over age 65 were less likely to use telemedicine (OR: 0.34, 95% CI: 0.22-0.52, P < .001), as were patients with a primary language other than English (OR: 0.53, 95% CI: 0.31-0.91, P = .02), and patients with public insurance (OR: 0.64, 95% CI: 0.49-0.84, P = .001). Perceived quality of care and technological barriers were the most common reasons cited for choosing in-person care during the pandemic. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been disparities in telemedicine use by age, language, and insurance for patients with diabetes mellitus. We anticipate telemedicine will continue to be an important care modality for chronic conditions in the years ahead. Significant work must therefore be done to ensure that telemedicine services do not introduce or widen population health disparities.

The Effect of Rehospitalization and Emergency Department Visits on Subsequent Adherence to Weight Telemonitoring.

BACKGROUND: Weight telemonitoring may be an effective way to improve patients' ability to manage heart failure and prevent unnecessary utilization of health services. However, the effectiveness of such interventions is dependent upon patient adherence. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine how adherence to weight telemonitoring changes in response to 2 types of events: hospital readmissions and emergency department visits. METHODS: The Better Effectiveness After Transition-Heart Failure trial examined the effectiveness of a remote telemonitoring intervention compared with usual care for patients discharged to home after hospitalization for decompensated heart failure. Participants were followed for 180 days and were instructed to transmit weight readings daily. We used Poisson regression to determine the within-person effects of events on subsequent adherence. RESULTS: A total of 625 events took place during the study period. Most of these events were rehospitalizations (78.7%). After controlling for the number of previous events and discharge to a skilled nursing facility, the rate for adherence decreased by nearly 20% in the 2 weeks after a hospitalization compared with the 2 weeks before (adjusted rate ratio, 0.81; 95% confidence interval: 0.77-0.86; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Experiencing a rehospitalization had the effect of diminishing adherence to daily weighing. Providers using telemonitoring to monitor decompensation and manage medications should take advantage of the potential "teachable moment" during hospitalization to reinforce the importance of adherence.