Telehealth, key part of pandemic-era care, should be more accessible for more patients

This study is timely because in July 2022, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill to extend Medicare reimbursements for telehealth visits through the end of 2024, and the U.S. Senate is currently considering legislation that would direct more funding for telehealth visits to Medicare beneficiaries.Improving how telehealth services are deployed could help address the longstanding inequities in access to and use of health care services that communities of color have faced, saidArturo Vargas Bustamante, a professor of health policy and management at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and director of faculty research at the Latino Policy and Politics Institute.“For patients who may avoid medical appointments because of scheduling, the loss of wages or transportation challenges, telehealth offers an option to receive health care without leaving their home or workplace,” Bustamante said. “Our study found that while language and technological barriers persist, a hybrid approach, combining in-person and telehealth visits, has the potential to improve both the patient and provider experience.”Other findings include: Health care providers of color were more likely than white providers to report that patients ’ race and ethnicity affected their use of telehealth services. The share of telehealth visits increased from 8% prior to the pandemic to nearly 48% almost immediately after California ’s stay-at-home order went into effect in March 2020, demonstrating...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news