Video Telehealth Use Lower Among Older, Black Cancer Patients

Low-income, older, male, and Black cancer patients were less likely to engage in video-based telehealth, according to a study published in The Oncologist.

The study consisted of data from 50,519 cancer care visits; 81.3 percent took place in person. Of the remaining number of visits conducted through telehealth, 58.3 percent were phone-based. Of the entire study sample, 23.9 percent were Black, 49.4 percent had private insurance, and the median age was 61 years.

Researchers found that Black and male patients were more likely to engage in in-person care. Patients who needed obstetrics and gynecology- or surgery-related cancer care were also more likely to receive that care in person.

On the other hand, those more likely to engage in telehealth lived more than 100 miles from the hospital and had an appointment with radiation oncology specialists.

Researchers also observed that specific populations were less likely to engage in telehealth through video. These patients included Black individuals and Medicaid beneficiaries.

Users of video visits were 73.6 percent White and 18.4 percent Black.

Age was also a significant factor linked to lower video visit use, with the likelihood of using video-based telehealth decreasing by 26 percent with each 10-year increase in age.

Through the progression of the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth use skyrocketed even among cancer patients, but telehealth access is skewed towards certain patients, researchers found.

There are certain limitations to the study, including the fact that it was observational, the inability to gather patient preference information quickly, and the unavailability of certain types of visits via telehealth.

Researchers concluded that their findings suggest that vulnerable populations use telehealth less and that further studies must be conducted to understand and eliminate barriers.

Outside of cancer care, previous research has indicated that older and Black patients are in general less likely to engage in telehealth using video.

A study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine in November 2021 assessed the progress of telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the entire sample, 45.4 percent received telephone-only care, and 54.6 used video. Those 71 to 75 years and those who were Black were most likely to participate in phone-only care.

Another study from February examined whether Black cardiovascular disease patients preferred text-based blood pressure monitoring or monitoring using an online patient portal. The study showed that this population preferred the text-based system. Researchers surmised that this was likely due to the higher levels of technology access needed for online patient portal use.