The American Medical Association surveyed its members between November and December of 2021 to examine their current use of telehealth. As outliend in the “2021 Telehealth Survey Report“, the key findings of the survey were:
- Uptake. 85% of physician use telehealth. 56% of respondents said they believe they will increase telehealth use in their practices.
- Mode. Most physicians using telehealth use live, interactive video visits (93%) but many still also supplement this with audio-only visits (69%). Zoom is the most common vidual platform with Doximity video and native EHR telehealth modules coming in next.
- Quality. 60% of clinicians agree or strongly agree telehealth enabled them to provide high quality care.
- Remote monitoring. Only 8% of respondents said they used remote patient monitoring technologies (e.g., smartphones (camera), blood pressure cuffs, pulse oximeters, and body weight scale). When remote monitoring was conducted, most of the time the information was shared manually (via phone or email).
- Patient access. 80% of respondents indicate patients have better access to care since using telehealth and 62% believe patients have higher satisfaction when telehealth is offered.
- Impact on cost. There was no consensus on telehealth’s impact on cost. Only 44% of respondents believed that telehealth decreased costs of care.
- Barriers. Key barriers include patient access to technology/broadband, patient digital literacy, and patient preferences for in-person visits.
- How telehealth is valued. Most physicians value telehealth based on how it impacts patient satisfaction and access to care. Clinical outcomes, operational efficiency are less relevant, reimbursement and cost savings are less important.
