Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA
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J Am Med Inform Assoc · Jan 2021
Observational StudyTelemedicine and healthcare disparities: a cohort study in a large healthcare system in New York City during COVID-19.
Through the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, telemedicine became a necessary entry point into the process of diagnosis, triage, and treatment. Racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare have been well documented in COVID-19 with respect to risk of infection and in-hospital outcomes once admitted, and here we assess disparities in those who access healthcare via telemedicine for COVID-19. ⋯ Telemedicine access disparities reflect those in in-person healthcare access. Roots of disparate use are complex and reflect individual, community, and structural factors, including their intersection-many of which are due to systemic racism. Evidence regarding disparities that manifest through telemedicine can be used to inform tool design and systemic efforts to promote digital health equity.
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J Am Med Inform Assoc · Jan 2021
Integrity of clinical information in radiology reports documenting pulmonary nodules.
Quantify the integrity, measured as completeness and concordance with a thoracic radiologist, of documenting pulmonary nodule characteristics in CT reports and assess impact on making follow-up recommendations. ⋯ Lack of documentation of pulmonary nodule characteristics in radiology reports is common, with potential for compromising patient care and clinical decision support tools.
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J Am Med Inform Assoc · Jan 2021
Racial and ethnic differences in self-reported telehealth use during the COVID-19 pandemic: a secondary analysis of a US survey of internet users from late March.
Widespread technological changes, like the rapid uptake of telehealth in the US during the COVID-19 pandemic, risk creating or widening racial/ethnic disparities. We conducted a secondary analysis of a cross-sectional, nationally representative survey of internet users to evaluate whether there were racial/ethnic disparities in self-reported telehealth use early in the pandemic. ⋯ The systemic racism creating health and health care disparities has likely raised the need for telehealth among Black patients during the pandemic. Findings suggest opportunities to leverage a broadly defined set of telehealth tools to reduce health care disparities postpandemic.