Provider Perspectives on Telehealth for Outpatient Palliative Care for Underserved Patients
ResearchPosted on rand.org Mar 20, 2025Published in: Journal of Palliative Medicine (2025). DOI: 10.1089/jpm.2024.0525
Telehealth for outpatient palliative care has grown rapidly since the COVID-19 pandemic, yet there remain important questions about the use of telehealth for underserved patient populations in a “postpandemic” society.
To examine current perspectives from interdisciplinary providers on the use of telehealth and in-person care for outpatient palliative care among underserved patients.
We conducted semi-structured interviews with outpatient palliative care providers and clinic staff (n = 17) from one health system in the United States.
Providers endorsed tele-palliative care for underserved patients because it enhanced patient-centered care and increased equity. However, providers noted two main challenges to the use of telehealth: technological issues on the part of patients and policies around prescribing controlled substances.
Future efforts to improve tele-palliative care for underserved patients may focus on technological and institutional infrastructure to support telehealth and consider policies around prescribing controlled substances for palliative care patients.
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