Telehealth Use Remained Popular Among US Adults in 2021

After reviewing telehealth use data from 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that many populations, mainly adults, maintained high levels of engagement in telehealth.

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, rising infections, hospitalizations, and deaths, prevented patients and providers from engaging in in-person visits. To work around this, healthcare stakeholders used telehealth to maintain provider-patient communication and allow patients to continue to receive care.

Throughout the pandemic, patients and providers alike observed the benefits that virtual care provided, which include improved access, convenience, and lack of exposure to COVID-19. However, as the pandemic has evolved, so have telehealth use patterns.

This report presents CDC findings on telehealth use trends in 2021. It includes data from the National Health Interview Survey, a nationally representative household survey conducted throughout the year by the National Center for Health Statistics. 

Researchers found that in 2021, 37 percent of adults reported participating in a telehealth visit within the preceding 12 months. This number positively correlated with age, with telehealth use increasing from 29.4 percent among 18-to 29-year-olds to 43.3 percent among adults 65 and older.

The report also notes that women (42 percent) were more likely to use telehealth than men (31.7 percent).

In addition, telehealth use varied by race and ethnicity. When asked about participating in a telehealth visit within the year prior, 39.2 percent of the non-Hispanic White population and 40.6 percent of the non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native population answered yes. These numbers exceeded those reported by Hispanic, non-Hispanic Black, and non-Hispanic Asian populations. Among these populations, 32.8 percent, 33.1 percent, and 33 percent, respectively, claimed to have used telehealth in the preceding year.

Researchers also found that the percentage of adults who used telehealth positively correlated with their education level, however it varied by family income.

Among telehealth users, 28.7 percent had did not have a high school GED, and 43.2 percent had a college or higher degree. Among those with family incomes of less than 100 percent of the federal poverty level, 33.1 percent used telehealth. In contrast, 40.7 percent of those with family incomes of 400 percent or greater of the federal poverty level used telehealth.

Further, the proportion of the survey population that used telehealth was inconsistent among US regions. But usage tended to decrease as urbanization levels dropped, the report shows.

In the Northeast and West, 40 percent and 42.4 percent of adults, respectively, used telehealth. These numbers exceeded those reported by adults from the Midwest and South, where 33.3 percent and 34.3 percent, respectively, used telehealth.

Also, 40.3 percent of adults living in central counties of large metropolitan areas used telehealth, which was higher than the 27.5 percent of those living in noncore areas who used telehealth.

Other organizations have also presented information on the sustained use of telehealth in 2021.

In March, the FAIR Health Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker noted that telehealth use increased nationally by 11.4 percent between November and December 2021. Researchers surmised that the COVID-19 Omicron variant played a large role in this increase.