Opportunities and Challenges to Advance Health Equity Using Digital Health Tools in Underserved Communities in Southeast US: A Mixed Methods Study

INTRODUCTION: Over the last 30 years, the adoption of health information technology and digital health tools (DHTs) into the US health system has been instrumental to improving access to care, especially for people living in rural, underserved, and underrepresented communities. Despite widespread adoption of DHTs by primary care clinicians, documented challenges have contributed to inequitable use and benefit. The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated rapid adoption of DHTs, accelerated by state and federal policy changes, in order to meet patient needs and ensure access to care. METHODS: The Digital Health Tools Study employed a mixed methods approach to assess adoption and use of DHTs by primary care clinicians in southeastern states and identify individual- and practice-level barriers and facilitators to DHT implementation. A survey was conducted using a multi-modal recruitment strategy: newsletters, meeting/conference presentations, social media, and emails/calls. Focus groups were conducted to assess priorities, barriers, and facilitators and were recorded/transcribed verbatim. Descriptive statistics were calculated for survey results, produced for the whole sample, and stratified by state. Thematic analysis was conducted of focus group transcripts. RESULTS: There were 1215 survey respondents. About 55 participants who had missing demographic information were excluded from the analysis. About 99% of clinicians used DHTs in the last 5 years, modalities included: telehealth (66%), electronic health records (EHRs; 66%), patient portals (49%), health information exchange (HIE; 41%), prescription drug monitoring programs (39%), remote/home monitoring (27%), and wearable devices (22%). Time (53%) and cost (51%) were identified as barriers. About 61% and 75% of clinicians reported being “satisfied” to “very satisfied” with telemedicine and EHRs, respectively. Seven focus groups with 25 clinicians were conducted and indicated COVID-19 and the use of supplemental tools/apps to connect patients to resources as major motivators for adopting DHTs. Challenges included incomplete and difficult-to-utilize HIE interfaces for providers and internet/broadband access and poor connectivity for patients. CONCLUSIONS: This study describes the impact adopting DHTs by primary care clinicians has on expanded access to healthcare and reducing health disparities in regions with longstanding health and social inequities. The findings identify opportunities to leverage DHTs to advance health equity and highlight opportunities for policy improvement.