PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Margaret Samuels-Kalow
AU  - Todd Jaffe
AU  - Kori Zachrison
TI  - Digital disparities: designing telemedicine systems with a health equity aim
AID  - 10.1136/emermed-2020-210896
DP  - 2021 Jun 01
TA  - Emergency Medicine Journal
PG  - 474--476
VI  - 38
IP  - 6
4099  - http://emj.bmj.com/content/38/6/474.short
4100  - http://emj.bmj.com/content/38/6/474.full
SO  - Emerg Med J2021 Jun 01; 38
AB  - The use of telemedicine has grown immensely during the COVID-19 pandemic. Telemedicine provides a means to deliver clinical care while limiting patient and provider exposure to the COVID-19. As such, telemedicine is finding applications in a variety of clinical environments including primary care and the acute care setting and the array of patient populations who use telemedicine continues to grow. Yet as telehealth becomes ubiquitous, it is critical to consider its potential to exacerbate disparities in care. Challenges accessing technology and digital literacy, for example, disproportionately impact older patients and those living in poverty. When implemented with the consideration of health disparities, telemedicine provides an opportunity to address these inequities. This manuscript explores potential mechanisms by which telemedicine may play a role in exacerbating or ameliorating disparities in care. We further describe a framework and suggested strategies with which to implement telemedicine systems to improve health equity.