With the rapid shift to telemedicine, some providers are facing issues connecting with patients who lack internet service or reliable tech devices to participate in virtual visits, according to Wired.
Tens of millions of Americans do not have smartphones or broadband internet connection, according to the report, which has left providers to perform telephone visits and some having to ask patients to come for in-person care during the pandemic.
"When you need telemedicine everywhere, you see a vulnerable population that doesn’t have the means to use it," Carla Harwell, MD, a primary care physician in Cleveland, told the publication. "It's revealed these inequities and the disparities that we've been sweeping up under the rug."
One-fourth of households in Cleveland lack broadband, and Dr. Harwell's patients are predominantly black and older, many of which are lower-income and have chronic conditions such as hypertension and asthma. "All things that place them at the top of the list for dying from [COVID-19]," Dr. Harwell said. "It also means my patient population is at the bottom of the list for access to the technology that’s needed to effectively do telemedicine."
Despite its intended effect to increase access to healthcare during the pandemic, telemedicine has been a barrier for some, said Jorge Rodriguez, MD, a physician at Boston-based Brigham and Women's Hospital. Dr. Rodriguez, who studies healthcare technology disparities, said one way to potentially increase access to telemedicine is by clinics routinely screening for connectivity when patients come for appointments. It is not yet standard practice, so many healthcare systems do not know which families are able to videoconference easily.