However, vaccination ratesvary significantly by state.
Indeed, 29 states have a vaccination rate below the national average.
Alarmingly, in 15 states fewer than 50% of eligible people are vaccinated.
And yet, despite its many benefits, telehealth is underutilized, particularly among older Americans.
Patients can connect with their physicians over the phone, via text message, or on a video chat.
Telehealth has many benefits.
It allows patients to maintain social distancing and reduce their potential exposure to COVID-19.
Additionally, telehealth can be effective atprescription management, routine check-ups, and counseling.
That said, telehealth isnt right for every patient or every situation.
In fact, telehealth use increased dramatically during the pandemic.
Adults age 46 and older had the greatest increase in health care visits viatelemedicine.
As shown in the chart below, telehealth is used less frequently among older Americans.
Understanding how telehealth use differs by age is essential for a number of reasons.
For example, a persons health care needs and risks differ as they age.
The barriers a person faces accessing health care may change as they get older.
The COVID-19 pandemic hasdisproportionately affected communities of color.
Black and Latino people are significantly more likely to beinfected by COVID-19.
They are also more likely to succumb to the disease.
(Throughout this report, Asian includes those who identify as Pacific Islanders.)
As shown in the chart below, the lone exception is for Latinos ages 4549.
Despite higher usage rates, the percentage of respondents who reported using telehealth during 2020 decreased as age increased.
In most instances, people of color are more likely to use telemedicine than other respondents.
They also have fewer significant drop-offs among higher age groups.
Analyzing the Vital Voicessurvey data, we found that women are more likely than men to participate in telehealth.
However, as shown in the chart below, that pattern varies somewhat by race.
Latino women are far more likely than Latino men to use telemedicine.
Indeed, Latino women are 25% more likely to use telehealth than Latino men.
However, that pattern is flipped for Black and Asian respondents.
Black and Asian men are slightly more likely than Black and Asian women to participate in telehealth.
Mental health challenges are disproportionately high among the LGBTQ community.
Additionally, there is not a meaningful change in telehealth use among older LGBTQ respondents.
In fact, people 4549 and those 65 and up reported about the same rates of telehealth use.
The general pattern of women using telehealth at higher rates than men continues among adults who identify as LGBTQ.
Fifty-four percent of LGBTQ women reported using telehealth, compared with 45% of LGBTQ men.
In other words, LGBTQ women are more likely than men to use telemedicine.
Therefore, access to high-speed broadband is a critical component of telehealth access.
Across the country, that translates to millions of people who had undue difficulty using telemedicine.
However, Latino respondents reported little difficulty using the internet to access telehealth.
Only 5% said that they had a somewhat or very difficult time.
Access to the internet is important not only because it facilitates effective use of telehealth.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of telehealth increased dramatically.
However, the increase in telehealth use varies by age, gender, and race.
For more information about this article, hey contact Cassandra Cantave atccantave@aarp.org.
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