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SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article

Front. Digit. Health
Sec. Connected Health
Volume 6 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fdgth.2024.1408170

Provision of digital devices and iInternet connectivity to improve synchronous telemedicine access in the U.S.: A systematic scoping review

Provisionally accepted
Joshua Bell Joshua Bell *Emilia De Marchis Emilia De Marchis Laura Gottlieb Laura Gottlieb Courtney Lyles Courtney Lyles Oanh Nguyen Oanh Nguyen Sara Ackerman Sara Ackerman
  • University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic led to a dramatic increase in telemedicine use for direct patient care. Inequities in device/internet access can limit the extent to which patients can engage with telemedicine care and exacerbate health disparities. In this review, we examined existing literature on interventions designed to improve patient telemedicine access by providing digital devices including tablets, smartphones, and computers and/or iInternet connectivity. Methods: In this systematic scoping review, we searched four databases for peer-reviewed studies published 1/1/2000-10/19/2021 that described healthcare interventions that provided patients with devices and/or internet connectivity and reported outcomes related to telemedicine access and/or usage. Data extraction elements included: study population, setting, intervention design, details on device/connectivity provision, and outcomes evaluated. Results: Twelve articles reflecting seven unique interventions met inclusion criteria. Ten articles examined telemedicine utilization (83%) and reported improved patient show rates/utilization. Seven articles examined patient satisfaction with the interventions (58%) and reported positive experiences. Fewer articles examined health outcomes (17%; 2/12) though these also demonstrated positive results. Across included studies, study quality was low. There were no controlled trials, and the most rigorously designed studies (n=4) involved pre/postintervention assessments. Discussion: Findings from this review indicate that providing material technology supports to patients can facilitate telemedicine access, is acceptable to patients and clinicians, and can contribute to improved health outcomes. The low number and quality of existing

    Keywords: telemedicine1, access2, Health equity3, Scoping review4, healthcare utilization5

    Received: 27 Mar 2024; Accepted: 16 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Bell, De Marchis, Gottlieb, Lyles, Nguyen and Ackerman. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Joshua Bell, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.