Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38241073›Full record

ArticleOnline journal of public health informatics2024

Patient Characteristics Associated With Phone and Video Visits at a Tele-Urgent Care Center During the Initial COVID-19 Response: Cross-Sectional Study.

Saif Khairat, Roshan John, Malvika Pillai, Philip McDaniel, Barbara Edson

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Online journal of public health informatics, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
1.4field-weighted citation impact, top 18% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. The Impact of Telehealth Implementation and Visit Modality on No-Show Rate in a High-Risk Obstetrics Clinic in a Safety Net Healthcare System.Telemedicine journal and e-health : the official journal of the American Telemedicine Association · 2025
    Observational
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Saif KhairatCarolina Health Informatics Program, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8992-2946
Roshan JohnCarolina Health Informatics Program, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0000-8114-8821
Malvika PillaiCarolina Health Informatics Program, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8739-189X
Philip McDanielDigital Research Services Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1099-737X
Barbara EdsonUNC Health, Morrisville, NC, United States.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5738-2068
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill · US

Funding

Center for Virtual Care Value and Excellence (ViVE). RC2TR004380 · NCATS · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · PI Saif Khairat · 2023 to 2026
$3.0M
An Interdisciplinary Program for Advanced Training in Health Data AnalyticsT15LM012500 · NLM · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · PI MOSTAFA, JAVED · 2017 to 2021
$2.9M
NCATS NIH HHS RC2 TR004380NLM NIH HHS T15 LM012500
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundHealth systems rapidly adopted telemedicine as an alternative health care delivery modality in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Demographic factors, such as age and gender, may play a role in patients' choice of a phone or video visit. However, it is unknown whether there are differences in utilization between phone and video visits.

objectiveThis study aimed to investigate patients' characteristics, patient utilization, and service characteristics of a tele-urgent care clinic during the initial response to the pandemic.

methodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study of urgent care patients using a statewide, on-demand telemedicine clinic with board-certified physicians during the initial phases of the pandemic. The study data were collected from March 3, 2020, through May 3, 2020.

resultsOf 1803 telemedicine visits, 1278 (70.9%) patients were women, 730 (40.5%) were aged 18 to 34 years, and 1423 (78.9%) were uninsured. There were significant differences between telemedicine modalities and gender (P<.001), age (P<.001), insurance status (P<.001), prescriptions given (P<.001), and wait times (P<.001). Phone visits provided significantly more access to rural areas than video visits (P<.001).

conclusionsOur findings suggest that offering patients a combination of phone and video options provided additional flexibility for various patient subgroups, particularly patients living in rural regions with limited internet bandwidth. Differences in utilization were significant based on patient gender, age, and insurance status. We also found differences in prescription administration between phone and video visits that require additional investigation.

Indexed as

COVID-19cross-sectional studyhealth disparitieshealth services researchinsurance statusnonemergency carephone visittelehealthtelemedicinetele-urgent caretelevisiturgent carevideo visitvirtual urgent care

Identifiers

PMID38241073
PMCPMC10802832
OpenAlexW4388737991

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.