Telemedicine and Disparities in Visit Attendance at a Rural Pediatric Primary Care Clinic During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Abstract

To determine whether the introduction of telemedicine at a rural pediatric clinic was associated with reduced disparities in visit attendance. A retrospective cohort study was conducted of all clinic visits from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2021. Visit types were divided into telemedicine visits, in-person urgent, and in-person non-urgent visits. Visits were stratified into periods based on the statewide pandemic response. A total of 8,412 patients with 54,746 scheduled visits were analyzed. Visits were less likely to be completed for older patients, Black patients, and patients with Medicaid insurance than their counterparts. Despite a pandemic-era increase in telemedicine utilization, disparities in visit completion that were present in the pre-pandemic era persisted after stay-at-home orders were lifted. The adoption of telemedicine did not reduce pre-existing disparities in visit attendance. Further work is needed to identify the reasons for the disparities and improve visit attendance of historically disadvantaged patient populations.