Similarities and Differences Between Rural and Urban Telemedicine Utilization

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Digital Health
• Telemedicine

Background:

• Telemedicine adoption is increasing in urban areas due to mobile health (mHealth) solutions, expanding beyond its traditional rural use.
• Understanding disparities in telemedicine utilization between urban and rural populations is crucial for equitable healthcare delivery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate differences in telemedicine usage rates across various healthcare specialties between urban and rural patients.
• To identify demographic and specialty-specific variations in telemedicine access within a large academic medical center.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cohort study analyzing telemedicine visits from 2008-2017 at a major academic medical center.
• Classification of telemedicine visits by clinical specialty, with a focus on teledermatology and telepsychiatry (child and adult).

Main Results:

• Teledermatology, child telepsychiatry, and adult telepsychiatry constituted 97% of all telemedicine visits.
• Rural patients exhibited a higher likelihood of engaging in multiple telehealth appointments compared to urban patients.
• Significant differences were found in telemedicine specialty access and patient demographics between rural and urban groups.

Conclusions:

• Telemedicine utilization patterns vary significantly between urban and rural patient populations.
• Health systems need to tailor resource allocation and training to address these distinct urban and rural needs.
• Telemedicine shows potential for mitigating the national shortage of adolescent psychiatry providers.