Study: Majority of patients ready for telehealth

The majority of patients indicate a readiness for telehealth, according to a study published in Telemedicine and e-Health.

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic conducted a phone survey of a random sample of 263 patients who had been seen in the outpatient setting at a single institution. The sample was stratified by proximity to the local institution with oversampling for patients living outside a 120-mile radius.

Of respondents:

• 38 percent indicated “very likely” to accept an invitation to see their provider via two-way video
• 28.1 percent said they were “somewhat likely”
• 33.8 percent indicated they were “not at all likely”

Of those surveyed, three-fourths have broadband--but only 38 percent had a web camera. Primary reasons for not desiring a video visit include comfort setting up a phone call, age and distance participants would have traveled for a clinical appointment, according to the study.

“Patient survey data indicate that most patients are likely to be accepting of telehealth care to the home using video call and that most have the required technology. Nevertheless, there are still significant hurdles to effectively implement this adaptation of telehealth care as part of mainstream practice,” concluded the authors.