Racial, Ethnic, and Socioeconomic Differences in Primary Care No-Show Risk with Telemedicine During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Background: The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic resulted in rapid implementation of telemedicine. Little is known about the impact of telemedicine on both no-show rates and healthcare disparities on the general primary care population during the pandemic.

Objective: To compare no-show rates between telemedicine and office visits in the primary care setting, while controlling for the burden of COVID-19 cases, with focus on underserved populations.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: Multi-center urban network of primary care clinics between April 2021 and December 2021.

Participants: A total of 311,517 completed primary care physician visits across 164,647 patients.

Main measures: The primary outcome was risk ratio of no-show incidences (i.e., no-show rates) between telemedicine and office visits across demographic sub-groups including age, ethnicity, race, and payor type.

Results: Compared to in-office visits, the overall risk of no-showing favored telemedicine, adjusted risk ratio of 0.68 (95% CI 0.65 to 0.71), absolute risk reduction (ARR) 4.0%. This favorability was most profound in several cohorts with racial/ethnic and socioeconomic differences with risk ratios in Black/African American 0.47 (95% CI 0.41 to 0.53), ARR 9.0%; Hispanic/Latino 0.63 (95% CI 0.58 to 0.68), ARR 4.6%; Medicaid 0.58 (95% CI 0.54 to 0.62) ARR 7.3%; Self-Pay 0.64 (95% CI 0.58 to 0.70) ARR 11.3%.

Limitation: The analysis was limited to physician-only visits in a single setting and did not examine the reasons for visits.

Conclusion: As compared to office visits, patients using telemedicine have a lower risk of no-showing to primary care appointments. This is one step towards improved access to care.