Associations between Patient- and Provider Level Factors, and Telemedicine Use in Family Medicine Clinics

Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine: JABFM

article

Omolola E. Adepoju¹  Luan Tran¹  Rosemary Agwuncha¹  Minji Chae¹  Jason Franco-Castano¹  Tracy Angelocci²  Winston Liaw¹ 

[1] University of Houston College of Medicine;Lone Star Circle of Care

关键词: Electronic Health Records;    Family Medicine;    Health Services Accessibility;    Logistic Models;    Medically Underserved Area;    Medically Uninsured;    Primary Health Care;    Retrospective Studies;    Telemedicine;   

DOI  :  10.3122/jabfm.2022.03.210416

学科分类：过敏症与临床免疫学

来源: The American Board of Family Medicine

【 摘 要 】

Introduction: Increased telemedicine implementation may promote primary care access. However, gaps in telemedicine uptake may perpetuate existing disparities in primary care access. This study assessed provider- and patient-level factors associated with telemedicine use in community-based family practice clinics.Methods: This retrospective study used electronic medical records data from a large Federally Qualified Health Center. A 3-level mixed-effects logistic regression model explored predictors of telemedicine use, with provider and patient as random effects.Results: The analytic sample included 37,428 unique patients with 106,567 primary care encounters with 42 family medicine providers. Fifty-seven percent of the sample identified as Hispanic, 28% non-Hispanic White, and 11% non-Hispanic Black. Compared to Hispanics, non-Hispanic White patients had 61% higher odds of a telemedicine visit, and non-Hispanic Black patients had 32% higher odds of a telemedicine visit. The odds of telemedicine use were lower for those who were uninsured. Those residing in metropolitan areas or medically underserved areas had greater odds of a telemedicine appointment. Commute time exhibited a dose-response relationship with telemedicine use. Provider characteristics were not significantly associated with telemedicine use.Discussion: While provider characteristics were not associated with telemedicine use, greater focus on patient characteristics specific to the population served is necessary.

【 授权许可】

CC BY