Patient demand for telemedicine remains strong
Nearly three quarters, (73%) of patients said they plan on using telemedicine for some or all of their care post-pandemic, according to a new report from Doximity.
In 2020, 58% of respondents reported a desire to use telemedicine more often or at the same rate after the COVID-19 pandemic.
In their 2021 State of Telemedicine Report, Doximity surveyed 2,000 adults, including 1,000 who said they had chronic illnesses, and 1,000 who did not.
Patients were asked about their perception and acceptance of telemedicine and the results were compared with a similar survey conducted in 2020. Researchers found that the percentage of patients who participated in a telemedicine visit in the past year grew from 42% in 2020 to 67% in 2021.
In addition, patients with chronic illness utilized telemedicine earlier in the pandemic, while patients who did not have chronic illnesses were more inclined to use telemedicine in the second year of the pandemic, according to the report.
Overall, most patients said that telemedicine is now a regular part of their healthcare experience.
In the analysis, the percentage of patients who reported that telemedicine offers the same or better quality of care compared with in-patient visits rose from 40% in 2020 to 55% in 2021.
Among patients without chronic illness, that number rose from 28% in 2020 to 47% in 2021. However, in patients with chronic illnesses, it climbed from 53% in 2020 to 63% the following year.
When queried about their preference for conducting medical visits, more than 59% of patients selected mobile devices, and only 38% said they used computers.
Finally, 19% of patients with household incomes lower than $25,000 relied on their smartphones for internet access from their home.
“Given that patients from lower income backgrounds and patients from historically marginalized groups are more reliant on smartphones for telemedicine access at home, healthcare systems can promote health equity by investing in mobile-first solutions that optimize for potentially slower, variable internet speeds,” the report stated.
When it comes to telemedicine adoption by physician specialty, the ones that have a high percentage of patients diagnosed with chronic illness tended to have a higher adoption of telemedicine.
Finally, among the physicians surveyed, more than 67% believed that access to telemedicine helped build or maintain trust with their patients from historically marginalized communities.
Read the full report here.
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