Telemedicine use increased in the US during the pandemic, with Black populations enjoying a higher rate of follow-up visits than they did before
Telemedicine use became more widespread in the US during Covid-19, when lockdowns were in effect. Patients and doctors did not see each other in person if it could be avoided, making technology-based intervention necessary and possible.
“While there remain important open questions about the relative quality of different kinds of telemedicine appointments, our findings show reduced time to follow-up and improved appointment show rates, which is certainly encouraging,” says the study’s lead author, Eric Bressman, MD, a fellow in the National Clinician Scholars Program and an internist at Penn.
The researchers used data from the University of Pennsylvania Health System’s electronic medical record. They included all adult discharges from inpatient medicine services of five UPHS hospitals between January 1, 2019 and April 30, 2021, who had outpatient follow up scheduled with a primary care provider in the same health system within 30 days of discharge.
The greatest boost, however, appeared to come from Black patients: Their visit completion rate went up from 52 to 70 percent. White patients did not change their behaviour significantly, completing post-discharge visits 68 percent of the time in January 2020 versus 67 percent of the time in June 2020.
Then there are the general benefits of telemedicine that the researchers observed in data after June 2020. For example, the time between discharge and the first primary care appointment follow-up fell by a day-and-a-half when the appointment was held via telemedicine. Completion rates of the follow-up appointments went up 22 percent via telemedicine, and the rate of follow-up within a week of hospitalisation went up eight percent as well.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
America Just Gave Black Folks the Finger on Voting RightsThere are so many people contributing, actively or passively, to the end of America’s brief experiment with real democracy that it’s hard to know where to focus your anger.
Read more »
Georgia college creates institute for Black male researchMorehouse, the nation’s only college dedicated exclusively to educating Black men, envisions the institute working in partnership with faculty in the College’s Africana Studies and History department.
Read more »
A Swift Kick Sends a Black Hole CareeningNewly released data confirms an idea based on Einstein’s century-old theory of gravitation.
Read more »
Out of this world: 555.55-carat black diamond lands in DubaiAuction house Sotheby’s Dubai has unveiled a diamond that’s literally from out of this world. The rare gem was shown off on Monday to journalists as part of a tour in Dubai and Los Angeles before it is due to be auctioned off in February in London.
Read more »