Refining 2SVCA method for measuring telehealth accessibility of primary care physicians in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Equity in health care delivery is a longstanding concern of public health policy. Telehealth is considered an important way to level the playing field by broadening health services access , improving quality of care and health outcomes. This study refines the recently developed 2-Step Virtual Catchment Area (2SVCA) method to assess the telehealth accessibility of primary care in the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area, Louisiana. The result is compared to that of spatial accessibility via physical visits to care providers based on the popular 2 -Step Floating Catchment Area (2SFCA) method. The study shows that both spatial and telehealth accessibilities decline from urban to low-density and then rural areas. Moreover, disproportionally higher percentages of Af-rican Americans are in areas with higher spatial accessibility scores; but such an advantage is not realized in telehealth accessibility. In the study area, absence of broadband availability is mainly a rural problem and leads to a lower average telehealth accessibility than physical accessibility in rural areas. On the other side, lack of broadband affordability is a challenge across the rural-urban continuum and is disproportionally associated with high concentrations of disadvantaged population groups such as households under the poverty level and Blacks.

Automated summary

Equity in health care delivery has always been a concern in public health policy, and telehealth is considered as an important means to achieve this by increasing access to health services and improving quality of care and health outcomes. This study compares the telehealth accessibility and spatial accessibility of primary care in Louisiana's Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area using the 2-Step Virtual Catchment Area (2SVCA) and 2-Step Floating Catchment Area (2SFCA) methods respectively. The findings show that both spatial and telehealth accessibilities decrease from urban to low-density and rural areas. Additionally, while African Americans have higher spatial accessibility scores, this advantage is not seen in telehealth accessibility. The study also highlights the rural problem of broadband availability, leading to lower telehealth accessibility compared to physical accessibility in rural areas, and the challenge of broadband affordability disproportionately affecting disadvantaged population groups.