Patients Report Better Telehealth Experiences Than Providers

Overall, patients were more likely to report that they could get the type of care they expected via telehealth as compared with providers, according to the Healthcare Experience Report: 2022 released by Zocdoc.

Based in New York City, Zocdoc assists people in booking in-person and virtual appointments for various types of care.

The authors of the report gathered data from Zocdoc user and provider surveys and analyzed healthcare appointments and booking trends from May 2020 to May 2022.

A key finding of the report was that patients were far less likely to say they experienced issues when using telehealth services. For example, only 15 percent of patients claimed that obtaining expected care was difficult, compared to the 58 percent of providers that reported difficulty when examining patients via telehealth.

Further, only 30 percent of patients said that they or their provider experienced technical issues during a virtual visit, compared with 58 percent of providers.

Researchers also noted that despite the expectation that telehealth would remain popular following the COVID-19 pandemic, it will serve as a supplement to in-person care rather than a substitute.

The number of telehealth visits peaked between March and August in 2020, when 13 percent of outpatient visits occurred through telehealth. But, when reviewing data of various specialties in the month of May in the last three years, the share of in-person visits has grown. For example, for dermatology, the share of in-person visits was 62 percent in May 2020, 91 percent in May 2021, and 95 percent in May 2022.

Mental health, however, continues to hold a place of dominance in telehealth. In May of 2020, 2021, and 2022, the percentage of mental health visits that occurred virtually was 74 percent, 85 percent, and 87 percent, respectively.

Despite this gradual return to in-person care in most specialties, many patients and providers continue seeing benefits to telehealth. When asked for opinions on hybrid care, 77 percent of patients stated they think they will end up participating in both in-person and virtual care in the future, and 83 percent of providers agreed the future of healthcare will include both. 

Nonetheless, providers must continue to gather telehealth information regarding patient behaviors and continue to use it to optimize care. The survey indicated that 30 percent of patients have participated in six or more telehealth visits since the start of the pandemic, with convenience being their primary reason for use. 

Providers also find telehealth to be convenient, with 55 percent saying they like the flexibility of work remotely, and 43 percent saying the care modality allowed them to care for more patients in rural areas.

In addition, telehealth has given providers an expanded view into their patients' lives. For example, mental health professionals, in particular, stated that viewing the home of a patient in the background of the screen could provide insight into their living environment.

Overall, 36 percent of providers said they have seen a pet belonging to a patient during a virtual visit, and 31 percent have seen roommates of a patient.

The report's findings are in line with recent research, including data released by FAIR Health that showed mental health conditions consistently appeared among the top telehealth diagnoses across the country during the pandemic. For the last two years, this specialty has held the top spot at the national level. As a result, social workers, psychiatrists, and psychologists were among the top five provider specialties that used telehealth the most.

Another study published in June described how patient characteristics play a more vital role than provider characteristics in determining telehealth use. These characteristics relate to ethnicity, insurance status, and location of residency.