J Am Board Fam Med
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The use of telemedicine increased during the global Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Rural populations often struggle with adequate access to care while simultaneously experiencing multiple health disparities. Yet, telemedicine use during the COVID-19 pandemic has been understudied on its effect on visit completion in rural populations. The primary purpose of this study is to understand how telemedicine delivery of family medicine care affects patient access and visit completion rates in a rural primary care setting. ⋯ Telemedicine can be a tool to improve patient access to primary care in rural populations. Our findings suggest that telemedicine may facilitate access to care for difficult-to-reach patients, such as those in rural areas, as well as those who have rigid work schedules, live longer distances from the clinic, have complex health problems, and are from areas of higher poverty and/or lower education.
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Family physicians who self-identify as Black, Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaska Native (AIAN) are more likely to provide care to historically marginalized patients and provide care in disadvantaged areas compared with their White counterparts. However, these physicians also tend to have a narrower scope of practice. ⋯ Therefore, historically marginalized patients and those in disadvantaged areas would greatly benefit from a physician workforce with a broad scope of practice to help combat long standing and pervasive health inequities. This commentary will visit the context of this issue and provide suggestions to equip and support a diverse physician workforce to deliver trusted and comprehensive health care.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has made innovative solutions to providing safe, effective care paramount. eConsult allows primary care providers to access specialist advice for their patients without necessitating an in-person visit. This study aims to explain how an eConsult service adapted to providing care for COVID-19 patients and examine its impact on patient care. ⋯ Our study demonstrated the effectiveness of rapidly adapting eConsult for COVID-19 care and supports similar action for other services.
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"Beyond Just a Supplement": Administrators' Visions for the Future of Virtual Primary Care Services.
The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in unprecedented adoption and implementation of virtual primary care services, and little is known about whether and how virtual care services will be provided after the pandemic ends. We aim to identify how administrators at health care organizations perceive the future of virtual primary care services. ⋯ Health care organizations are considering how virtual primary care services can be used to improve patient outcomes, access to care, and convenience of care. To implement and sustain virtual primary care services, health care organizations will need long-term support from regulators and payers.
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We studied perceptions of patients who receive telemedicine services in the fee-for-service setting of an academic medical center's family medicine department. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to investigate patient sentiments on both experiential and financial aspects of telemedicine primary care with copayment collection. ⋯ Our findings suggest that telemedicine is a viable alternative to in-person visits and that most patients find a copayment reasonable. The findings suggest that telemedicine offers convenience and consistency with continuity and corroborate previous studies investigating telemedicine viewpoints. Payors should consider copayment in detail when designing telehealth benefits to ensure they do not become a barrier in seeking care.