Primary Care Appointment Completion Rates and Telemedicine Utilization Among Black and Non-Black Patients from 2019 to 2020.

Objective: To understand how differences in primary care appointment completion rates between Black and non-Black patients changed in 2020 within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and when telemedicine utilization peaked. Materials and Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using the electronic health record from January 1 to December 31, 2020, among all adults scheduled for a primary care appointment within a large academic medical center. We used mixed-effects logistic regression to estimate adjusted appointment completion rates for Black patients compared with those for non-Black patients in 2020 as compared with those in 2019 within four time periods: (1) prepandemic (January 1, 2020, to March 12, 2020), (2) shutdown (March 13, 2020, to June 3, 2020), (3) reopening (June 4, 2020, to September 30, 2020), and (4) second wave (October 1, 2020, to December 31, 2020). Results: Across 1,947,399 appointments, differences in appointment completion rates between Black and non-Black patients improved in all time periods: +1.4 percentage points prepandemic (95% confidence interval [CI]: +0.8 to +2.0), +11.7 percentage points during shutdown (95% CI: +11.0 to +12.3), +8.2 percentage points during reopening (95% CI: +7.8 to +8.7), and +7.1 percentage points during second wave (95% CI: +6.4 to +7.8) (all p-values <0.001). The types of conditions managed by primary care shifted during the shutdown period, but the remainder of 2020 mirrored those from 2019. Discussion: Racial differences in appointment completion rates narrowed significantly in 2020 even as the mix of disease conditions began to mirror patterns observed in 2019. Conclusions and Relevance: Telemedicine may be an important tool for improving access to primary care for Black patients. These findings should be key considerations as regulators and payors determine telemedicine's future.

Clinician Decisions After Notification of Elevated Blood Pressure Measurements From Patients in a Remote Monitoring Program.

Importance: Guidelines recommend using telehealth for hypertension management, but insufficient evidence is available to guide strategies for incorporating telehealth data into clinical practice. Objective: To describe how primary care teams responded to elevated remote blood pressure (BP) alerts in the electronic health record (EHR) in a randomized clinical trial of BP telemonitoring conducted in routine practice settings. Design, Setting, and Participants: This retrospective cohort study reviewed EHR documentation from May 8, 2018, to August 9, 2019, in a single urban academic family practice site. Primary care teams comprising 28 attending physicians and nurse practitioners, residents, and nurses cared for 162 patients in a text-based clinical trial of remote BP monitoring remote BP monitoring. Data were analyzed from October 21, 2019, to April 30, 2021. Exposures: Clinicians received a direct message in their EHR inbox when patients submitted at least 3 elevated BP readings. Main Outcomes and Measures: Categories and frequencies of clinician action, created via review of EHR-documented clinician responses to EHR alerts by 2 physicians. Results: Patients in this study (n = 162) were predominantly female (111 [68.5%]) and Black or African American (146 [90.1%]), whereas attending physicians (n = 21) were predominantly female (13 [61.9%]) and non-Hispanic White (19 [90.5%]) with a mean (SD) age of 51.6 (11.1) years. Five hundred fifty-two alerts fell into 12 categories of clinical actions. Clinicians acted on 343 alerts (62.1%). Common remote activities were to reconcile medications and assess adherence (120 of 552 alerts [21.7%]) and verify BP measurement technique (65 of 552 alerts [11.8%]). Clinicians also commonly requested appointments (120 of 552 alerts [21.7%]) and/or saw the patient in a subsequent office visit (114 of 552 alerts [20.7%]). Ninety-six alerts (17.4%) resulted in medication changes; half of these changes were remote (48 of 96 [50.0%]), and the other half were visit-based. For 209 of 552 alerts (37.9%), no changes were made to the care plan, typically without documenting clinical rationale (196 of 209 instances [93.8%]). Exploratory EHR review was used to infer potential clinical rationale for 106 (54.1%) of such cases, but there was insufficient information for the remaining 90 (45.9%). Conclusions and Relevance: These findings suggest that EHR alerts for elevated BP during remote monitoring were effective in prompting a mix of remote and office-based management. It was also common for the plan of care to remain unchanged, possibly suggesting need for more refined alerts and improved clinician support.

Prevalence of Informal Caregiving in States Participating in the US Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Balancing Incentive Program, 2011-2018.

Importance: The Balancing Incentives Program (BIP), established under the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act provided federal funding for states to shift long-term care out of institutional settings and into the home. However, the association of its implementation with informal caregiving is not known. Objective: To evaluate the association between BIP participation and the prevalence and frequency of informal caregiving and socioeconomic disparities among caregivers. Design, Setting, and Participants: The cohort study included respondents to the 2011-2018 American Time Use Survey in BIP-adopting states and non-BIP-adopting states. Exposure: Living in a state that had implemented the BIP after program implementation had begun (April 2012 to April 2018). Main Outcomes and Measures: Prevalence of caregiving among all respondents, frequency of caregiving, and minutes of daily sleep, a marker of well-being. Differences-in-differences (DID) regression analysis was used to compare these outcomes between BIP-adopting states and non-BIP-adopting states. Results: The study included 38 343 respondents in BIP-adopting states (median age, 47 years [interquartile range (IQR), 31-61 years]; 51.9% women), of whom 7428 were caregivers (median age, 51 years [IQR, 37-61 years]; 55.6% women), and 26 437 respondents in non-BIP-adopting states (median age, 48 years [IQR, 32-62 years]; 52.7% women), of whom 5527 were caregivers (median age, 52 years [IQR, 38-62 years]; 57.9% women). There was no change in the prevalence of caregiving between BIP-adopting and non-BIP-adopting states after program implementation (DID, 0.00%; 95% CI, -0.01% to 0.01%). Caregivers in BIP-adopting states were more likely to provide daily care after implementation (DID, 3.2%; 95% CI, 0.3%-6.0%; P = .03) and report increased time sleeping (DID, 15.6 minutes; 95% CI, 4.9-26.2 minutes; P = .005) compared with caregivers in non-BIP-adopting states. This association was more pronounced among caregivers with more education (DID, 25.1 minutes; 95% CI, 6.5-43.8 minutes; P = .01) and higher annual family income (DID, 16.9 minutes; 95% CI, 5.9-27.9 minutes; P = .004) compared with caregivers in non-BIP-adopting states who had the same education and income levels, respectively. Conclusions and Relevance: In this cohort study, the BIP was associated with increased daily caregiving and improved caregiver well-being. However, it may have disproportionately benefited caregivers of higher socioeconomic status, potentially exacerbating disparities in caregiver stress. Future policies should aim to mitigate this unintended consequence.

Patient Characteristics Associated With Telemedicine Access for Primary and Specialty Ambulatory Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Importance: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has required a shift in health care delivery platforms, necessitating a new reliance on telemedicine. Objective: To evaluate whether inequities are present in telemedicine use and video visit use for telemedicine visits during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design, Setting, and Participants: In this cohort study, a retrospective medical record review was conducted from March 16 to May 11, 2020, of all patients scheduled for telemedicine visits in primary care and specialty ambulatory clinics at a large academic health system. Age, race/ethnicity, sex, language, median household income, and insurance type were all identified from the electronic medical record. Main Outcomes and Measures: A successfully completed telemedicine visit and video (vs telephone) visit for a telemedicine encounter. Multivariable models were used to assess the association between sociodemographic factors, including sex, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and language, and the use of telemedicine visits, as well as video use specifically. Results: A total of 148 402 unique patients (86 055 women [58.0%]; mean [SD] age, 56.5 [17.7] years) had scheduled telemedicine visits during the study period; 80 780 patients (54.4%) completed visits. Of 78 539 patients with completed visits in which visit modality was specified, 35 824 (45.6%) were conducted via video, whereas 24 025 (56.9%) had a telephone visit. In multivariable models, older age (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.85 [95% CI, 0.83-0.88] for those aged 55-64 years; aOR, 0.75 [95% CI, 0.72-0.78] for those aged 65-74 years; aOR, 0.67 [95% CI, 0.64-0.70] for those aged ≥75 years), Asian race (aOR, 0.69 [95% CI, 0.66-0.73]), non-English language as the patient's preferred language (aOR, 0.84 [95% CI, 0.78-0.90]), and Medicaid insurance (aOR, 0.93 [95% CI, 0.89-0.97]) were independently associated with fewer completed telemedicine visits. Older age (aOR, 0.79 [95% CI, 0.76-0.82] for those aged 55-64 years; aOR, 0.78 [95% CI, 0.74-0.83] for those aged 65-74 years; aOR, 0.49 [95% CI, 0.46-0.53] for those aged ≥75 years), female sex (aOR, 0.92 [95% CI, 0.90-0.95]), Black race (aOR, 0.65 [95% CI, 0.62-0.68]), Latinx ethnicity (aOR, 0.90 [95% CI, 0.83-0.97]), and lower household income (aOR, 0.57 [95% CI, 0.54-0.60] for income <$50 000; aOR, 0.89 [95% CI, 0.85-0.92], for $50 000-$100 000) were associated with less video use for telemedicine visits. These results were similar across medical specialties. Conclusions and Relevance: In this cohort study of patients scheduled for primary care and medical specialty ambulatory telemedicine visits at a large academic health system during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, older patients, Asian patients, and non-English-speaking patients had lower rates of telemedicine use, while older patients, female patients, Black, Latinx, and poorer patients had less video use. Inequities in accessing telemedicine care are present, which warrant further attention.