For people seeing a neurologist, their age, race, ethnicity and neighborhood may play a role in whether they do so in person or virtually, via telemedicine , according to a study published in the November 20, 2024, online issue of Neurology ® Clinical Practice , an official journal of the American Academy of Neurology. These results do not prove these factors increase or decrease a person's likelihood to choose telemedicine, they only show an association. There is an urgent need to develop health care options that can meet the increasing demand created by a shortage of neurologists and a rising number of individuals with neurological disease.
Telemedicine has become an integral part of health care delivery and has the potential to improve access to care. This virtual visit option saw a surge in usage during the pandemic, which appeared to have initially improved access across all groups. However, our study found that after the pandemic, disparities persisted.
" Marisa Patryce McGinley, DO, study author of Cleveland Clinic in Ohio and member of the American Academy of Neurology For the study, researchers evaluated data from 242,273 people. Telemedicine use was compared across three time frames: prepandemic, January 2019-February 2020; early pandemic, March-June 2020; and late pandemic, July 2020-July 2022, or after social distancing. Researchers used home addresses and a measure called the Area Deprivation Index to determine if each participant lived in an advantaged or disadv.
