Study: Telehealth rates of desired and actual use differ widely in U.S.

A report by telehealth provider Avizia and Modern Healthcare Custom Media, the research division of Modern Healthcare, found there is a wide gap between how healthcare providers currently use telehealth versus how they want to use the technology.

More than 280 healthcare leaders from U.S. health systems were surveyed and according to the findings, the most common service lines using telehealth today include stroke (44 percent), behavioral health (39 percent), staff education and training (28 percent) and primary care (22 percent). When looking to the future, patient education and train­ing lead the wish list (34 percent), closely followed by remote patient home monitoring (30 percent) and primary care (27 percent).

These new findings show that the top concern for healthcare providers is centered around funding. With the top two barriers encountered by half of all organizations being investments for telehealth technology and infrastructure (50 percent) and issues related to reim­bursement (48 percent), without the means to fund the newest technologies they are not able to implement the best possible care.

"As a clinician and a telehealth advocate I empathize with the battle going on in our system today. Hospitals and doctors know where they need to go, and they ultimately know what is best for their patients, but costs and reimbursement challenges have inhibited their ability to move forward," said Alan Pitt, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Avizia and attending physician and Professor of Neuroradiology at the Barrow Neurological Institute, in a statement.

"Getting hospitals, physicians, health plans and telehealth companies on the same page will be critical to moving healthcare forward and improving public health," said Pitt. "We talk a lot about collaboration in healthcare between the payers and providers, but in order to truly deliver on the promise of value-based-care, it's clear that technologists need to be a part of the business conversation."

Other findings in the study include:

• 72 percent of U.S. hospitals say they use telehealth, compared to 52 percent for physician groups and clinics, and 36 percent for other types of providers.
• The most popular use of telehealth is through a computer workstation on wheels or 'tablet on a stick' (40 percent). In the future this will expand to telemedicine platforms built out of EHRs and FDA-approved biometric monitoring devices, according to respondents.

"We live in an age where we want everything to be easy, safe and effective. When we access our health services we essentially want the same experience as buying a pair of running shoes on Amazon or FaceTiming a friend. But, when it comes to our health, the stakes are much, much higher. Providing remote access to care and information can mean the difference between life and death," said Mike Baird, Avizia CEO and Cofounder.