Telemedicine Trends During the COVID-19 Pandemic - World Trade Center Health Program, 2020-2021

Details

• Journal Article:
  Journal of Clinical and Translational Science. Translational Science 2025 Abstract Collection, April 14-17, 2025, Washington, DC
• Personal Author:
  Azofeifa, Alejandro ; Liu, Ruiling ; Dupont, Hannah
• Description:
  Objectives/Goals: The World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program (Program), a limited federal healthcare program for eligible people exposed to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, expanded telemedicine services during the COVID-19 pandemic. We analyzed service use trends from 2020-2021 to describe how the program implemented telemedicine services. Methods/Study Population: We estimated use rates of telemedicine-eligible services and telemedicine services by all included program members and by subgroups of members defined by member type (responder or survivor) and selected characteristics for the study period 2020-2021. We described the use trends of total telemedicine-eligible visits, telemedicine visits, and in-person visits, respectively, by quarter. We calculated the quarterly rates of telemedicine use per 1000 living members. We used a multivariable logistic regression to examine associations between member characteristics and telemedicine use rates. Results/Anticipated Results: About 75% of telemedicine visits were related to mental health services. In the second quarter of 2020 (April-June), telemedicine use rate (367 visits/1000 members) increased, exceeding in-person service rate (152 visits/1000 members) by 1.4 fold. Telemedicine use rate decreased gradually in the rest of the study period but still represented 38% of total visits by the end of 2021. Regression models showed differences in telemedicine use rates by member type and by demographic characteristics. Survivor members (vs. responder members), those self-identified as non-Hispanic Other races (vs. non-Hispanic White), those with preferred non-English language (vs. preferred English), and those not living in the New York metropolitan area (vs. living in the New York metropolitan area) were less likely to use telemedicine. Discussion/Significance of Impact: The expansion of telemedicine service provided members uninterrupted access to necessary health services during the COVID-19 pandemic. It underscored the importance of extensive partner collaboration, the capacity to rapidly develop necessary technical guidance, and the flexibility to timely address frequent regulatory guidance updates.
• Subjects:
  Mental Health Occupational Health Safety September 11 Terrorist Attacks
• Keywords:
  World Trade Center; WTC; Health programs; Medical care; Mental health; Health services
• Source:
  J Clin Transl Sci 2025 Apr; 9(s1):161
• ISSN:
  2059-8661
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract
• Place as Subject:
  District of Columbia ; Ohio ; Philadelphia Region [OSHA] ; Chicago Region [OSHA]
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  WTCHP - World Trade Center Health Program
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  2 pdf pages
• Volume:
  9
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20071542
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2025
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:27357cbb02fa3548acd500c94b1159f86dc5fee862f9f71ce07bf8d15a562a609b25dcff21a378787a4d17591b0b0c05b8b8d04fe3f57a009796684af85a59f6
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/259135/cdc_259135_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 104.37 KB ]