ArticleJournal of pain and symptom management2022
Telemedicine Utilization in the Ambulatory Palliative Care Setting: Are There Disparities?
Article in Journal of pain and symptom management, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Telehealth adoption in palliative care: a systematic review of patient barriers and facilitators.BMC palliative care · 2025Pooled it
- Association of internet-integrated palliative care pathway assignment with recorded quality-of-life and symptom-burden scores in patients with terminal cancer: a single-center retrospective propensity score-matched cohort study.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Extending the reach of palliative care-a double-edged sword: a qualitative study of clinicians' experiences of delivering telehealth in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.BMC palliative care · 2025Article
- "Telehealth Allows for Flexibility and More Equity": Provider Perspectives on Telehealth for Outpatient Palliative Care for Underserved Patients.Journal of palliative medicine · 2025Article
- Digital Health Technology Use Among Spanish Speakers in the US: A Scoping Review.JAMA network open · 2025Article
- More than 3 years of teleconsultations: A retrospective cohort study in specialized outpatient palliative care.Palliative medicine · 2025Article
- Telemedicine Use Among Older Adults During COVID-19: A Narrative Literature Review of Utilization Patterns.Telemedicine reports · 2025Review
- Use of virtual care near the end of life before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: A population-based cohort study.PloS one · 2025Article
- Advancing cancer care through digital access in the USA: a state-of-the-art review of patient portals in oncology.BMJ oncology · 2025Review
- Transforming patient-centered cancer care using telehealth: the MATCHES Center.Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Monographs · 2024Article
- Article
- Clinician Perceptions of Barriers and Facilitators for Delivering Early Integrated Palliative Care via Telehealth.Cancers · 2023Article
- Strategies to Make Telemedicine a Friend, Not a Foe, in the Provision of Accessible and Equitable Cancer Care.Cancers · 2023Article
- The State-of-the-Art of Patient Portals: Adapting to External Factors, Addressing Barriers, and Innovating.Applied clinical informatics · 2023Review
- Evaluation of Inequities in Cancer Treatment Delay or Discontinuation Following SARS-CoV-2 Infection.JAMA network open · 2023Article
- Telemedicine and Its Past, Present, and Future Roles in Providing Palliative Care to Advanced Cancer Patients.Cancers · 2022Review
- The Telemedicine Experience in Primary Care Practices in the United States: Insights From Practice Leaders.Annals of family medicineArticle
- Artificial intelligence in telemedicine: Topic modelling and network analysis of patents (1992-2024).Digital healthArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
contextGiven a shortage of specialty palliative care clinicians and geographic variation in availability, telemedicine has been proposed as one way to improve access to palliative care services for patients with cancer. However, the enduring digital divide raises questions about whether unequal access will exacerbate healthcare disparities.
objectivesTo examine factors associated with utilization of telemedicine as compared to in-person visits by patients with cancer in the ambulatory palliative care setting.
methodsWe collected data on patients seen in Supportive Oncology clinic by palliative care clinicians with an in-person or telemedicine visit from March 1 to December 30, 2020. A logistic regression with generalized estimating equation was fit to assess the association between visit type and patient characteristics.
resultsA total of 491 patients and 1783 visits were identified, including 1061 (60%) in-person visits and 722 (40%) telemedicine visits. Female patients were significantly more likely to utilize telemedicine than male patients (OR 1.46; 95% CI 1.11-1.90). Spanish-speaking patients (OR 0.32, 95% CI 0.17-0.61), those without insurance (OR 0.28, 95% CI 0.15-0.52), and those without an activated patient portal (Inactivated: OR 0.46, 95% CI 0.26-0.82; Pending Activation: OR 0.29, 95% CI 0.18-0.48) were less likely to utilize telemedicine.
conclusionOur study reveals disparities in telemedicine utilization in the ambulatory palliative care setting for patients with cancer who are male, Spanish-speaking, uninsured, or do not have an activated patient portal. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, we can better meet the palliative care needs of patients with cancer through telemedicine only if equity is kept at the forefront of our discussions.
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