Clinicians Show Intent to Continue Telehealth Use Post-Pandemic

Primary care physicians and nurse practitioners increased their use of virtual care visits during the coronavirus pandemic, and many want to continue providing this type of care after the pandemic is over, according to a new study out of Canada.

Due to stay-at-home orders and fear of spreading the virus, healthcare providers were essentially forced to turn to virtual visits at the height of the pandemic. But telehealth services have proved to be a viable means of healthcare, and many providers are interested in continuing to offer them post-pandemic, according to the study by Canada’s eHealth Centre of Excellence.

The study details the results of a survey that was distributed electronically to primary care physicians and nurse practitioners in the Ontario Health West Region. 

The survey looked at 207 responses that provided insights into providers’ experiences using different telehealth methods, their comfort and satisfaction levels regarding telehealth use, their perceptions on using telehealth post-pandemic, and more. The majority (96.6 percent) of the providers offered virtual visits during the pandemic.

Of the 200 study participants who provided telehealth visits, all but one offered phone calls to carry out these visits. More than half (67 percent) offered video calls, while less than half used secure messages and text messages to provide healthcare services to patients (41.5 and 18.5 percent, respectively).

Before the pandemic, just 6.5 percent of all respondents’ visits were conducted virtually; that jumped to 66.4 percent once the pandemic took hold. 

There was a clear expansion of telehealth use during this time period, the study indicates, and more importantly, many providers intend to continue these services after the pandemic is over, with an anticipated 43.9 percent of visits to remain virtual.

To glean how primary care physicians and nurse practitioners felt about telehealth use, the survey presented a number of questions about satisfaction levels as well as challenges the providers faced.

Audio-only phone calls were the most popular, with 92.4 percent of the respondents reporting that they felt comfortable using this telehealth modality. Three in four providers were comfortable using secure messaging and text messaging, and 62 percent found comfort using video calls. 

Nearly 75 percent of the practitioners surveyed were satisfied with their overall experience using telehealth, which increases the chance that they will continue to provide these services post-pandemic. The majority of the respondents (88 percent) indicated that they could incorporate virtual visits into their workflows with ease.

There were some challenges that survey respondents say need to be addressed going forward. 

More than half of the clinicians responded that they were concerned with patients’ limited access to and knowledge of technology and devices. This challenge, along with concern over inconsistent internet connectivity, was more prevalent in physicians who practice in rural areas.

Other challenges of providing virtual visits included a lack of integration with electronic medical records platforms, an increase in time needed to conduct these visits, and a lack of administrative support and technology on the provider end. There were also worries about patients overusing virtual visits and patient privacy. 

The survey also gathered responses from physicians on what resources would most help them with the integration of virtual visits.

Nearly half (47 percent) of the physicians responded that having standards for virtual care outlined by their profession’s college would be helpful. Other resources that could help include access to resources on virtual care platforms, change management support, provided training on how to use telehealth tools and technology, and in-house organizational support. 

Another hurdle is coverage. For instance, reimbursement rates provided by payers can largely influence clinicians’ decisions to pursue virtual care services.

“Adequate local resources and evidence-based information would help clinicians continue with the use of virtual care,” the study concluded. “However, our findings highlight the need for further targeted efforts to be sought and assessed. This study suggests that appropriate connectivity measures and standardized practice guidelines, and simplified platforms could address clinicians’ concerns and improve virtual care adoption.”