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. 2021 Nov 18;4(1):159.
doi: 10.1038/s41746-021-00528-y.

Telephone, video, equity and access in virtual care

Tyla Thomas-Jacques  1 , Trevor Jamieson  2   3 , James Shaw  2   4
Affiliations

Telephone, video, equity and access in virtual care

Tyla Thomas-Jacques et al. NPJ Digit Med. .

Abstract

Current public health measures catalyzed a large shift to virtual care, resulting in a great uptake in telephone and video-enabled care. While pre-pandemic public healthcare funding rarely covered the telephone as a reimbursable care delivery model, it has proven a crucial offering for many populations. As the new standard of virtual service delivery is being solidified, simple technological solutions that provide access to care must continue to be supported. This paper explores an important consequence of relying on complex technologies as the new standard of virtual care: the risk of exacerbating health disparities by enabling a deeper digital divide for marginalized populations.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

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