As telehealth’s barriers become more evident, medical leaders and politicians are coming up with solutions to address these challenges. The latest equity and telehealth news round-up covers legislation that would extend COVID-19 emergency telehealth waivers, how telehealth increased access to follow up-visits for Black patients, a Virginia free clinic receiving funding for telehealth reach, and the impact of telemedicine on quality of care for patients with diabetes and HIV.
Bipartisan legislation supporting Telehealth in post-pandemic state of emergency
Earlier this month, the Telemedicine Extension and Evaluation Act was introduced to Congress. This bipartisan legislation would ensure predictable patient access to telehealth following the end of the public health emergency caused by the pandemic. Learn more about this bill and how it may affect telehealth.
How telehealth increased access to follow-up visits
A recent study found that in the first few months of the pandemic, Black patients saw a higher increase in post-discharge follow-up appointments compared to white patients, which coincided with the rapid adoption of telehealth. Because Black patients have historically had high no-show rates for follow up appointments after hospitalization, this suggests that virtual care may have increased access to follow-up visits for this patient population. Learn more about how telehealth has boosted access to follow-up visits.
The impact of telehealth on quality of care for patients with diabetes after the pandemic
To determine whether utilizing telemedicine in the first 9 months of the pandemic impacted the quality of care for patients with diabetes, researchers examined participants’ telemedicine encounters with a physician between March 2020 and December 2020. The study concluded that telemedicine use maintained quality of care for these patients during the first 9 months of the pandemic. Read more about the impact of telemedicine on quality of care for patients with diabetes.
Health Wagon free clinic receives FCC grant to help with telehealth reach
The Health Wagon in Wise, Virginia has been awarded a grant from the FCC to help pay for three telemedicine carts, giving improved connectivity with distance medical specialists. Southwest Virginia has been underserved by various medical specialists, and telemedicine helps Health Wagon serve many low-income patients who face transportation and cost problems traveling to specialists. Learn more about how Health Wagon’s latest telemedicine carts can help increase access to care.
Improving telemedicine for patients with HIV
A recent study identified benefits and barriers with telemedicine for patients with HIV. While patients and clinical staff found that there were several benefits to virtual care, barriers such as technical challenges and privacy and reimbursement concerns presented many opportunities to optimize telemedicine for HIV care. Read more about the study here.
Research over the last two years has shown that telehealth may help reduce racial care disparities and improve access to care by eliminating geographic barriers, but this may only be achieved if patients have equal access to proper technology. Learn more about Virginia Telehealth Networks’ effort toward improving equity in telehealth. Become a member of VTN to gain access to webinars, supplementary materials, and other members-only content.