Majority of Providers, Patients Plan to Continue Using Telehealth

Most U.S. providers and healthcare consumers plan to continue using telehealth in the future, which shows that the service will remain popular, according to a new report.

Released by GoodRx on Monday, the report is based on a survey of 1,042 U.S. adults conducted from Sept. 13 to 17, and a poll of 624 providers, conducted in collaboration with the American Telemedicine Association, from Aug. 2 to Sept. 5.

Over 80% of the providers surveyed intend on continuing to use telehealth. More than half (65 percent) said they have used telehealth to diagnose a new condition, and over 51 percent said they have used it to prescribe medication for a new condition raised during the virtual visit.

A majority of providers believe that telehealth has a positive effect on patient care, with 70 percent of respondents reporting that telehealth had made continuity of care for patients better or much better, the report states.

Further, about 60 percent reported that telehealth had made adherence to medication and conversations around cost better or much better.

But telehealth may result in more no-shows as compared to in-person care. Approximately 45 percent of provider respondents reported that telehealth no-show rates were higher or much higher than in-person rates, while only 22 percent said the rates were equal.

When it comes to telehealth, synchronous formats win out. Most providers said they prefer either a traditional video call where both parties are online at the same time (67.4 percent) or a text-based visit where both parties are online at the same time (58.2 percent).

While there are several telehealth platform choices available, Zoom, Facetime and platforms offered by an EHR provider are the most popular with providers.

Looking ahead, 25 percent of providers said they would prefer to use telehealth for 51 percent to 75 percent of their visits.

This lines up with consumer attitudes toward telehealth. About 63 percent of consumers surveyed said they plan on using a combination of telehealth and in-person visits going forward.

Twenty-five percent of respondents said they would only use telehealth, and 12% said they would not use telehealth at all.

Like providers, a majority of patients (58 percent) prefer video chatting. But this group cited phone-based care as their next most-preferred option (27 percent) as opposed to a text-based visit (14 percent).

Of all the benefits telehealth provides to healthcare consumers, access is one of the most important. The survey confirms that telehealth helped increase the frequency with which consumers interacted with their providers, with about 40 percent saying those interactions increased.

"The pandemic may have accelerated telehealth adoption out of necessity, but it has proven to be an essential tool for connecting people to the care they need," said Tori Marsh, director of research at GoodRx, in a news release. "Our research shows that telehealth has helped with medication adherence for patients while also making care more convenient and accessible. Telehealth is here to stay, and will remain an important part of care long after the pandemic subsides."