Disparities in Telemedicine Use Among Children Seen in Surgical Clinics During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Experience of One Tertiary Care Freestanding Children's Hospital

Abstract

Background:

Telemedicine use dramatically increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the effects of telemedicine on pre-existing disparities in pediatric surgical access have not been well described. We describe our center's early experience with telemedicine and disparities in patients' access to outpatient surgical care.

Methods:

A retrospective study of outpatient visits within all surgical divisions from May to December 2020 was conducted. We assessed the rates of scheduled telemedicine visits during that period, as well as the rate of completing a visit after it has been scheduled. Descriptive and logistic regression analyses were used to test for associations between these rates and patient characteristics.

Results:

Over the study period, 109,601 visits were scheduled. Telemedicine accounted for 6.1% of all visits with lower cancellation rates than in-person visits (26.9% vs. 34.7%). More scheduled telemedicine encounters were observed for older patients, White, English speakers, those with private insurance, and those living in rural areas. Lower odds of telemedicine visit completion were observed among patients with public insurance (odds ratio [OR] 0.7, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.64–0.77), Spanish language preference (OR 0.84, 95% CI 0.72–0.97), and those living in rural areas (OR 0.73, 95% CI 0.64–0.84). In contrast, higher odds of telemedicine visit completion were associated with a higher Social Deprivation Index score (OR 1.41, 95% CI 1.27–1.58). Telemedicine visit completion was also associated with increasing community-level income and distance from the hospital.

Conclusions:

Telemedicine use for outpatient surgical care was generally low during the peak of the pandemic, and certain populations were less likely to utilize it. These findings call for further action to bridge gaps in telemedicine use.