University of Michigan: Disparities in Accessing Care Could Worsen if Audio Visits Aren’t Available as a Telehealth Option
A study found that audio-only appointments made up nearly half of the Michigan Medicine Department of Urology’s telehealth visits during the first few months of the pandemic. Forty-four percent of patients who had a telehealth visit for a urological concern from April 1, 2020, to June 30, 2020 used audio but not video functions. The study found factors that affected whether patients preferred audio over video or did not have the technological capacity for video calls included older age, Black or American Indian/Alaska Native ethnicity, the need for an interpreter, living in a rural area with limited broadband access, or having Medicaid health insurance. The findings suggest that audio encounters may be an important medium for certain patient populations to connect with their physicians during the COVID-19 public health emergency and beyond.