Health Inequalities in the Use of Telehealth in the United States in the Lens of COVID-19.
Popul Health Manag
; 23(5): 368-377, 2020 10.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-32816644
ABSTRACT
The use of remote health care services, or telehealth, is a promising solution for providing health care to those unable to access care in person easily and thus helping to reduce health inequalities. The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting stay-at-home orders in the United States have created an optimal situation for the use of telehealth services for non-life-threatening health care use. A retrospective cohort study was performed using Kantar's Claritis™ database, which links insurance claims encounters (Komodo Health) with patient-reported data (Kantar Health, National Health & Wellness Survey). Logistic regression models (odds ratios [OR], 95% confidence intervals [CI]) examined predictors of telehealth versus in-person encounters. Adults ages ≥18 years eligible for payer-complete health care encounters in both March 2019 and March 2020 were identified (n = 35,376). Telehealth use increased from 0.2% in 2019 to 1.9% in 2020. In adjusted models of respondents with ≥1 health care encounter (n = 11,614), age, marital status, geographic residence (region; urban/rural), and presence of anxiety or depression were significant predictors of telehealth compared with in-person use in March 2020. For example, adults 45-46 years versus 18-44 years were less likely to use telehealth (OR 0.684, 95% CI 0.561-0.834), and respondents living in urban versus rural areas were more likely to use telehealth (OR 1.543, 95% CI 1.153-2.067). Substantial increases in telehealth use were observed during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States; however, disparities existed. These inequalities represent the baseline landscape that population health management must monitor and address during this pandemic.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Neumonía Viral
/
Telemedicina
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Infecciones por Coronavirus
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Disparidades en el Estado de Salud
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Disparidades en Atención de Salud
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Pandemias
Tipo de estudio:
Etiology_studies
/
Incidence_studies
/
Observational_studies
/
Prevalence_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Aspecto:
Determinantes_sociais_saude
/
Equity_inequality
/
Patient_preference
Límite:
Adult
/
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
País/Región como asunto:
America do norte
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Popul Health Manag
Asunto de la revista:
SAUDE PUBLICA
/
SERVICOS DE SAUDE
Año:
2020
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Israel