Citation

Simon MA. J. Am. Med. Assoc. JAMA 2021; 325(22): 2307-2308.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, American Medical Association)

DOI

10.1001/jama.2021.1071

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men in the US have experienced violence from an intimate partner in their lifetime.1 However, for many individuals, the COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant sheltering at home have increased levels of stress, panic, and financial and emotional strain. The World Health Organization defines intimate partner violence (IPV) as behavior by a partner, spouse, or ex-partner that can cause or causes physical, sexual, or psychological harm.2 A United Nations report cited a global surge in IPV accompanying the stay-at-home and lockdown orders.3 It is possible that IPV cases in many countries have significantly increased. While a recent JAMA Clinical Insights focused on recognizing and responding to IPV during in-person clinical care visits,2 the context of IPV identification and supportive care approaches using telehealth modalities warrants attention.

Telehealth and telemedicine have been defined by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services as "the exchange of medical information from one site to another through electronic communication to improve a patient's health."4 One of the transformative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic has been a substantial increase in telehealth use across many health care service disciplines. For example, in a survey of 3500 family physicians and pediatricians, only 12% worked in a practice that used telehealth in 2016, whereas more than 90% of primary care physicians offered telehealth after

Language: en