A team of researchers from Cleveland Medical Center conducted a study to understand the potential disparities in telehealth visits among patients with chronic rhinosinusitis. The study findings were presented at the American Rhinologic Society, Combined Otolaryngology Spring Meeting (ARS-COSM) in Boston, Massachusetts (May 4-5, 2023). chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a common inflammatory disease characterized by nasal discharge, sinonasal edema, and sinus discomfort, with an estimated prevalence of 12% in the United States. The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly exposed the healthcare disparities existing in the United States.
Studies have shown that Black and Hispanic communities are disproportionately influenced by the virus and are more susceptible to contracting COVID-19, thereby experiencing hospitalization, and facing higher mortality rates. Furthermore, the elderly, individuals with low socioeconomic status, and those with pre-existing health conditions are particularly vulnerable to the virus. Access to quality care through telemedicine could greatly benefit these marginalized populations.
Telehealth has emerged as a rapidly progressing field in contemporary healthcare. During the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a notable surge in telehealth appointments. Nevertheless, effective adoption of telehealth relies on having internet access, smart devices, and technological proficiency, which can pose challenges for different groups of people. Recent studies have highlighted the issue of digital inequality exacerbating health disparities across different medical conditions.
The researchers examined data from 54 healthcare organizations obtained from TriNetX. They performed four separate queries to assess patients who were seen for a complaint of CRS either in-person or via telehealth in the years 2020 and 2021. Descriptive statistics were employed to analyze continuous variables, while frequencies and percentages were used for categorical variables. Moreover, T-tests were applied to assess continuous data, and Fisher’s exact tests were used to compare categorical variables.
According to the study results, 9,687 telehealth visits and 201,991 in-person visits for CRS were reported in 2020, compared to 216,144 in-person visits and 7,285 telehealth visits in 2021. It was also observed that during the period 2020-2021, a decrease in telehealth visits was observed for American Indian/Alaska Natives (from 0.5% to 0.2%) and for African Americans (from 9.9% to 8.8%). However, no significant difference was found among white patients (83.8% vs. 84.3%) or Hispanic patients (5% vs 5.2%). Moreover, no difference was observed based on gender.
“For patients with CRS, this data shows that American Indian/Alaska Native and African Americans use of telehealth decreased from 2020 to 2021, “ the author noted. “This suggests that certain populations may have increased barriers to accessing virtual visits, ” the authors concluded. The authors suggested that further research needed to determine causality due to the potential for exacerbating health disparities among historically marginalized populations.
Reference:
Warren DA, Cabrera C, Rodriguez K, D’Anza B, Disparities in Telehealth Usage Among Patients with Chronic Rhinosinusitis. ARS-COSM. May 4-5, 2023.