Persistence of Unequal Access to Classical Hematology Telemedicine Visits by Race and Other Demographics During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: Unequal access to telemedicine services exacerbates health inequities and was evident at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. We sought to explore whether unequal access persisted within a classical hematology division beyond the peak of COVID-19. Methods: Patient demographics by virtual visit type (telephone only [TO] or video only [VO]) between March 2020 and December 2021 were analyzed using adjusted odds ratio (aOR). Results: Of 8,207 patients, 18.4% had TO and 28.4% had VO visits. Fewer Black (21.8%; aOR 0.5 [0.4-0.62]), Hispanic or Latino (18.8%; 0.45 [0.34-0.59]), Spanish-speaking (7.6%; 0.32 [0.19-0.54]), high school (21.2%; 0.64 [0.52-0.78]), and older (24.2%) patients used VO compared with White (30.6%), English-speaking (29.5%), college (31%), postgraduate (34.9%), and younger (35.4%) patients. Conclusions: Groups that historically experience health inequities had fewer VO visits during and beyond the pandemic peak. Thus, there is a need to continue digital inclusion efforts to promote video access equity.

Development of Duffy Null-Specific Absolute Neutrophil Count Reference Ranges.

This study establishes a Duffy null phenotype­specific absolute neutrophil count reference range to optimize care and improve health equity.

Models of care for sickle cell disease in low-income and lower-middle-income countries: a scoping review.

Sickle cell disease has a growing global burden falling primarily on low-income countries (LICs) and lower-middle-income countries (LMICs) where comprehensive care is often insufficient, particularly in rural areas. Integrated care models might be beneficial for improving access to care in areas with human resource and infrastructure constraints. As part of the Centre for Integration Science's ongoing efforts to define, systematise, and implement integrated care delivery models for non-communicable diseases (NCDs), this Review explores models of care for sickle cell disease in LICs and LMICs. We identified 99 models from 136 studies, primarily done in tertiary, urban facilities in LMICs. Except for two models of integrated care for concurrent treatment of other conditions, sickle cell disease care was mostly provided in specialised clinics, which are low in number and accessibility. The scarcity of published evidence of models of care for sickle cell disease and integrated care in rural settings of LICs and LMICs shows a need to implement more integrated models to improve access, particularly in rural areas. PEN-Plus, a model of decentralised, integrated care for severe chronic non-communicable diseases, provides an approach to service integration that could fill gaps in access to comprehensive sickle cell disease care in LICs and LMICs.

Development of a Hematology-General Medicine Hybrid Team to Improve Care of Patients With Sickle Cell Disease.

PROBLEM: Approximately 100,000 individuals in the United States have sickle cell disease (SCD). These individuals face multiple barriers to equitable care. At Brigham and Women's Hospital, existing health inequities for these patients were compounded by admitting, rounding, and team structures that assigned patients with SCD to multiple medicine teams with a hematologist attending, leading to delays in patient care and gaps in residents' hematology knowledge. APPROACH: A hematology-general medicine hybrid team was created in September 2021 to enhance trainee knowledge, skill, and confidence in managing hematology conditions and improve the quality of care delivered to individuals with SCD. This allowed for regionalization of patients with classical hematology conditions to specific hospital floors under the care of one team with a hematologist as the attending of record. OUTCOMES: From October 1, 2021, to January 11, 2022, the majority (745/824, 90%) of in-hospital days for patients with a primary hematology diagnosis were under the care of the hematology-general medicine hybrid team. Regionalization to the home floor of the hybrid team was achieved on 331 (40%) of these 824 hospital days, consistent with regionalization rates for other teams. From October 1, 2021, to September 30, 2022, there were 128 unique patients with SCD admitted over 511 encounters and cared for by approximately 78 residents and 12 medical students. Feedback from residents reported improved knowledge in the management of hematology conditions, especially SCD. NEXT STEPS: The authors are working on a comprehensive analysis of the hybrid team's impact on trainee skill and confidence in managing SCD. The authors believe that this model can be replicated at other institutions to optimize trainee education, consolidate care, and address implicit bias against patients with SCD, even with the hematology attending as a consultant instead of as the attending of record.

National Prevalence of Diabetes and Barriers to Care Among U.S. Farmworkers and Association With Migrant Worker Status.

OBJECTIVE: To quantify the prevalence of diabetes and barriers to care among U.S. migrant farmworkers (i.e., those who travel from their permanent residence for seasonal farmwork). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Age-adjusted prevalence of self-reported diabetes and barriers to care were calculated among adult U.S. farmworkers from 2008 to 2017 National Agricultural Workers Surveys. RESULTS: Among 16,913 farmworkers, 30.7% reported one or more barriers to care, most often due to cost. Age-adjusted self-reported prevalence of diabetes was 13.51% (95% CI 10.0-17.1) among migrant farmworkers and 10.8% (95% CI 9.0-12.6) among nonmigrant farmworkers with access to health care. Migrant farmworkers without recent health care had 83% lower odds of reporting known diabetes (adjusted odds ratio 0.17; 95% CI 0.06-0.54) compared with nonmigrant farmworkers, likely because of poor health care access and/or a healthy worker effect. CONCLUSIONS: Many migrant farmworkers face barriers to care, which may lead to significant underdiagnosis of diabetes in this vulnerable population.

Absolute neutrophil count by Duffy status among healthy Black and African American adults.

Many people of African ancestry have lower absolute neutrophil counts (ANCs) without increased risk for infection. This is associated with the Duffy-null phenotype (nonexpression of the Duffy antigen on red blood cells), which is commonly found in those of African descent. Currently, there are no studies that compare the ANC of individuals with Duffy-null phenotype to those with Duffy non-null phenotypes within a self-identified Black population. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of Duffy status on ANCs based on complete blood counts with differential and Duffy testing in a healthy population of self-identified Black individuals at a single primary care center. This study found that 66.7% (80 of 120) of Black individuals have the Duffy-null phenotype and that there is a significant difference in ANCs between Duffy-null and Duffy non-null individuals (median, 2820 cells per µL vs 5005 cells per µL; P < .001). Additionally, 19 of 80 (23.8%) Duffy-null individuals had an ANC of <2000 cells per µL compared with no (0) Duffy non-null individuals. The Duffy-null phenotype is clinically insignificant; however, inappropriate reference ranges can propagate systemic racism. Therefore, we advocate for the development of Duffy-null-specific ANC reference ranges as well as replacing the term benign ethnic neutropenia with Duffy-nullassociated neutrophil count.