Nature Digital Medicine: Closing the Gap: Addressing Telehealth Disparities Across Specialties in the Sustained Pandemic Era

Nature Digital Medicine: Closing the Gap: Addressing Telehealth Disparities Across Specialties in the Sustained Pandemic Era

Telehealth has surged as a viable solution to reduce no-shows and improve health care accessibility, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, telehealth disparities and its long-term efficacy across various medical specialties remain understudied. This retrospective analysis examined telehealth use and no-shows among outpatient encounters in an Illinois hospital network. Overall, telehealth encounters were associated with reduced no-show odds compared to in-person encounters. Mental health specialty had the highest telehealth usage rate and the highest no-show rates. These results underscore the variability in telehealth use by specialty type and pervasive disparities telehealth use and no-shows.