The “Telehealth Divide”—Who Are the Underserved, and What Care Is Improved?

Abstract

After years of slow progress, the COVID-19 pandemic forced a rapid adoption of telehealth and telemedicine. The transition was not uniform across demographic groups, reflecting social determinants of health. This special issue of JABFM highlights many lessons learned and reviews insights gained by patients, clinicians, and health care administrators about telehealth and telemedicine during the pandemic. The focus on research on the COVID-19 pandemic is turning increasingly toward the long-term impact of the pandemic. Reports on Medicare wellness visits, drug safety, medical abortion, and the differences in scope and location of practice by race and ethnicity of family physicians can also be found in this issue.