Rates of Primary Care and Integrated Mental Health Telemedicine Visits Between Rural and Urban Veterans Affairs Beneficiaries Before and After the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

This study suggests that, despite initial telemedicine gains at rural VA health care sites, the pandemic was associated with an increase in the rural-urban telemedicine divide across the VA health care system. To ensure equitable access to care, the VA health care system's coordinated telemedicine response may benefit from addressing rural disparities in structural capacity (eg, internet bandwidth) and from tailoring technology to encourage adoption among rural users.