Use of telehealth services rose during the pandemic and remains high

Key takeaways​​​​​​The use of telehealth in California quadrupled between 2018 and 2022.People who are white, older, have health insurance or speak only English at home are the largest groups using telehealth.Improving access to telehealth services across all sociodemographic groups can lessen health care inequities in the state, researchers say.When the COVID-19 pandemic forced restrictions and shutdowns, health care providers turned to telehealth. The result was a surge in the use of telehealth by Californians to access care, according to a new study by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.The study found that in 2022, 46.7% of adults had used telehealth in the past year — slightly less than the 49% in 2021 but still nearly quadruple the approximately 12% who used such services in 2018, before the pandemic. Telehealth services range from talking to health care providers over the phone or by video and using remote health-monitoring devices tracked by providers to  sending and receiving health-related messages over secure digital networks.“Health care delivery services have evolved dramatically as a result of the pandemic,” said Sean Tan, a senior public administration analyst at the center. “Telehealth is transforming the health care delivery landscape and creating opportunities for hybrid models of health care.”Despite the continued popularity of telehealth, researchers discovered wide disparities in its use across subpopulations in California....
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news