Scheduled and attended pediatric primary care telemedicine appointments during COVID-19

BackgroundThe aim of this study was to examine pediatric primary care telemedicine visit scheduling and attendance during the first year of telemedicine.MethodsUsing electronic health record data from two academic pediatric primary care practices between April 2020-March 2021, we used Pearson chi(2) tests and logistic regression models to identify child-, family-, and appointment-level characteristics associated with scheduled and attended telemedicine appointments.ResultsAmong 5178 primary care telemedicine appointments scheduled during the 12-month period, the proportion of appointments scheduled differed over time for children in families with a language preference other than English or Spanish (4% quarter 1 vs. 6% in quarter 4, p = 0.01) and residing in ZIP codes with the lowest household technology access (24% in quarter 1 vs. 19% in quarter 3 (p = 0.01). Four thousand one hundred and forty-eight of 5178 scheduled telemedicine appointments were attended. Likelihood of attending a telemedicine appointment was highest for children in families with a language preference other than English or Spanish (90%, 95% CI 86-94% compared to Spanish 74%, 95% CI 65-84%), and same-day appointments (86%, 95% CI 85-87%). Attendance among families preferring Spanish language was higher in later months compared to earlier months.ConclusionsWe found disparities in scheduling and attending telemedicine appointments, but signs of greater language equity over time.

Automated summary

This study aimed to investigate pediatric primary care telemedicine visit scheduling and attendance. Electronic health record data from two academic pediatric primary care practices between April 2020 and March 2021 were analyzed to identify factors associated with scheduled and attended telemedicine appointments. Disparities in scheduling and attendance were found, but there were signs of improving language equity over time.