As healthcare rapidly moves online, Black, Latino, and Asian patients face mounting barriers to accessing digital health services, according to a new health policy brief. Video-based telehealth visits remain significantly lower among these populations compared to white patients, alongside those without college degrees, households earning under $100,000 annually, and people preferring non-English languages.
Patient portal usage shows similar troubling patterns. Despite improvements since the pandemic, Black and Hispanic adults continue experiencing persistent disparities in portal access, along with older adults, lower-income households, and those lacking college education. These gaps mean reduced access to prescription renewals, test results, and secure messaging with healthcare teams.
Remote patient monitoring devices reveal another dimension of inequality. Uptake concentrates among younger, privately insured patients at hospitals in higher-income areas, suggesting that digital access and provider factors shape who benefits from connected health technologies.
Veterans Administration screening at 60 locations found that over 40 percent of patients had at least one digital need. These patients were predominantly older, Black, low-income, and unpartnered veterans—populations already facing healthcare challenges.
The stakes grew higher when the Affordable Connectivity Program ended in 2024. Among recipients who lost subsidized internet, 36 percent discontinued telehealth or remote monitoring services, and 39 percent reduced food spending to maintain connectivity.
Authors Amy Sheon and Elaine Khoong warn that poverty and education-related disparities reemerge with each new technology—from artificial intelligence to mobile apps—actively exacerbating health inequities rather than closing gaps.
See: “Digital Inclusion Pathways To Health Equity” (January 22, 2026)
