Digital Inclusion Pathways To Health Equity

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the shift to virtual health care, with patients expected to interact through portals, secure messaging, and video visits, and with providers monitoring conditions using connected devices that collect and transmit patients’ biometric data. These technologies offer health care access for underserved communities but require internet access, devices, and digital skills. All fifty states were allocated funds from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 to expand broadband access and support digital inclusion, ensuring device availability, affordable broadband, digital skills training, accessible applications, and technical support. But funding lapses and policy rollbacks now threaten gains that could have advanced health care access and equity. As health care moves online, universal digital access and literacy are health policy imperatives. This brief outlines pathways from digital inclusion to health care access and equity, synthesizing post-2020 evidence and offering policy solutions to sustain momentum.