THE NEED FOR TELEHEALTH SUPPORT

HENM, Inc. offers our Connected People – Connected Services Initiative that works to address digital inequity. It is supported by a grant from the Maryland Statewide Office on Broadband that helps deliver quality, comprehensive services to those who need it most. Our Mobile HNU One, our premiere state-of-the-art, 5 G-enabled resources, is supported by the Maryland Department of General Services.

We believe everyone has the right to freedom, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Healthcare is a human right, and all people, regardless of who they are, should have access. To that end, our services are offered to people who need it most, bringing about equity and inclusion for all. We are uniquely prepared to work directly with senior citizens, those with mobility challenges, persons with physical disabilities, children in foster care, returning citizens, veterans, the unhoused, and those within communities that lack access to broadband services

  • Telehealth use increased dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic, but research suggests that access to telehealth was not equitable across different population subgroups. 

  • The highest rates of telehealth visits were among those with Medicaid (29.3%) and Medicare (27.4%), Black individuals (26.8%), and those earning less than $25,000 (26.7%).

  • There were significant disparities among subgroups in terms of audio versus video telehealth use. Among telehealth users, the highest share of visits that utilized video services occurred among young adults ages 18 to 24 (72.5%), those earning at least $100,000 (68.8%), those with private insurance (65.9%), and White individuals (61.9%).

  • Video telehealth rates were lowest among those without a high school diploma (38.1%), adults ages 65 and older (43.5%), and Latino (50.7%), Asian (51.3%) and Black individuals (53.6%).

  • Additionally, people who live in communities that have medium to high poverty rates, low educational attainment, higher levels of unemployment, food insecurity tend to be more likely to have chronic diseases such as asthma, diabetes, and hypertension. If not properly managed people within these communities are more likely be hospitalized for conditions that could be treated and managed better with mobile assistance like the one HENM, Inc. provides.