University of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, DC, USA.
Clin Dermatol. 2023 Jan-Feb;41(1):207-214. doi: 10.1016/j.clindermatol.2022.10.006. Epub 2022 Nov 4.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant changes in dermatologic care, likely exacerbating health disparities for specific minority populations. The use of teledermatology has also become more prevalent during this period. The aim of this study was to determine if the proportion of teledermatology versus office-based visits varied significantly during three study periods of the COVID-19 pandemic. The secondary objective was to determine whether there are significant differences in the use of office-based dermatology versus teledermatology care across the following demographic subgroups: insurance type, race/ethnicity, age, and language during the same periods. A chart review of dermatology visits in electronic medical records at a tertiary referral center in Washington, DC, was conducted. The overall telehealth visit rate was 0% in the prequarantine period, 61.12% during the quarantine period, and 10.59% in the postquarantine period. After assessing telehealth utilization rates among the demographic subgroups, we noted that Medicaid users, Black patients, 64-year-olds or older, and English speakers may benefit the least from telehealth services. Teledermatology use necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic may have promoted health care disparities for specific marginalized populations.
新冠疫情大流行导致皮肤科护理发生重大变化，可能使特定少数族裔群体的健康差距进一步扩大。在此期间，远程医疗的使用也变得更加普遍。本研究旨在确定在新冠疫情大流行的三个研究期间，远程医疗与门诊就诊的比例是否有显著差异。次要目标是确定在同一时期，在以下人口统计学亚组中，使用基于办公室的皮肤科护理与远程医疗护理是否存在显著差异：保险类型、种族/民族、年龄和语言。对华盛顿特区一家三级转诊中心电子病历中的皮肤科就诊情况进行了图表回顾。在检疫前时期，远程医疗就诊率为 0%，检疫时期为 61.12%，检疫后时期为 10.59%。在评估了人口统计学亚组中的远程医疗利用率后，我们注意到医疗补助计划（Medicaid）用户、黑人患者、64 岁及以上的患者和讲英语的患者可能从远程医疗服务中获益最少。新冠疫情大流行所必需的远程医疗的使用可能加剧了特定边缘化群体的医疗保健差距。
