Rural Americans may be more likely to access and complete medical appointments using telehealth vs. in-person care, a May study in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine found.
Researchers from the West Virginia University School of Medicine analyzed 110,999 patient visits between January 2019 and November 2020 — including 13,013 using telemedicine — and found that telehealth increased completion rates by about 20 percent. The efficacy of virtual appointments was particularly pronounced among individuals of working age and higher-risk older people.
"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," the researchers wrote.