Telehealth service use and quality of care among US adults with diabetes: A cross-sectional study of the 2022 health information national trends survey.

OBJECTIVE

To characterise telehealth use, reasons for using or not using telehealth and the factors associated with telehealth use among US adults with diabetes.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional study.

SETTING

Data were sourced from the 2022 Health Information National Trends Survey.

PARTICIPANTS

US adults aged 18 years or older with self-reported diagnosis of diabetes (both type 1 and type 2).

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOMES

Past 12-month utilisation of telehealth services, modality (eg, video, voice only), overall perception of quality of care, perceived trust in healthcare system and patient-centred communication score.

RESULTS

In an analysis of 1116 US adults with diabetes, representing 33.6 million individuals, 48.1% reported telehealth use in the past year. Telehealth users were likely to be younger, women, with higher income, and urban dwellers. Older adults (≥65 years) were less likely to use telehealth compared with those aged 18-49 years (OR 0.43, 95% CI 0.20 to 0.90). Higher income and more frequent healthcare visits were predictors of telehealth usage, with no significant differences across race, education or location. Across respondents with telehealth usage, 39.3% reported having video-only, 35.0% having phone (voice)-only and 25.7% having both modalities. The main motivations included provider recommendation, convenience, COVID-19 avoidance and guidance on in-person care needs. Non-users cited preferences for in-person visits, privacy concerns and technology challenges. Patient-reported quality-of-care outcomes were comparable between telehealth users and non-users, with no significant differences observed by telehealth modality or area of residence (metro status).

CONCLUSIONS

Around half of US adults with diabetes used telehealth services in the past year. Patient-reported care quality was similar for telehealth and in-person visits. However, further efforts are needed to address key barriers to telehealth adoption, including privacy concern, technology difficulties, and care coordination issues.