The study examined 63.5 million primary care and 3.6 million mental health integration visits across 138 Veterans Affairs healthcare systems from March 16, 2019, to December 15, 2021. Here’s what it found:
- The rural-urban digital divide is still persistent even after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in mental health integration services.
- The pandemic increased the rural-urban telemedicine divide.
- Rural patients are increasing their telemedicine visits and are substituting them for previous in-person services.
- Telemedicine expansion for rural VA healthcare systems lagged behind urban ones.
