Prior to COVID-19, we were starting to see doctors and patients slowly adopt the use of telemedicine. The Deloitte 2018 Surveys of US Health Care Consumers and Physicians reported that while 23% of consumers had experienced video visits, 57% of the people who hadn’t yet tried it were willing to. On the flip side, 14% of physicians had video capability and only 18% were planning to add it in the next 1 - 2 years. Then came COVID—and telemedicine exploded.
We define telemedicine as the use of communications technology platforms— like phones, Skype, Zoom and FaceTime —to monitor, diagnose and treat patients from a distance. This includes everything from a Zoom therapy session to an over-the-phone post-operative check-in. First used in the 1950s to help doctors treat patients in rural communities, telemedicine now offers patients the opportunity to be treated at home or at work instead of traveling to an office.
Here are 10 revealing statistics about the current state of the telemedicine industry post-pandemic and how patients and providers are using the technology:
The telemedicine market is expected to grow from 79.79 billion dollars in 2020 to 396.76 billion dollars in 2027.
As of July 2021, the use of telehealth has stabilized at levels 38X higher than pre-pandemic. (McKinsey)
The share of Medicare visits conducted through telehealth in 2020 increased 63-fold. (HHS)
Physicians are responding positively to telehealth, with one study finding 85% of participating physicians indicating that telehealth has increased timeliness of care; 75% saying it allowed them to deliver high-quality care; and 70% saying they were motivated to increase the use of telehealth. (AMA)
Psychiatry, substance abuse treatment, endocrinology and rheumatology are among the specialties with the highest telehealth adoption. (McKinsey)
In that same report, 40% of people surveyed said they believe they’ll continue to use telehealth—up from 11% who used it pre-pandemic. (McKinsey)
A 2021 Deloitte survey reported “ease of attending appointments” (44%) and the “reduced chances of contracting COVID-19” (43%) as the top two aspects participants liked best about their telehealth experiences. They named “lack of human touch/face-to-face connection” (28%) and “physician’s inability to collect vital statistics” (21%) as their two biggest telehealth challenges. (Deloitte)
Fifty states and Washington, D.C., provide reimbursement for live video (in some capacity) in Medicaid fee-for-service, 29 state programs provide reimbursement for remote patient monitoring and 22 state programs reimburse for audio-only telephone in some capacity. (CCHP)
Each state defines and regulates telehealth differently. In the fall of 2021, the main policy changes included Medicaid policy changes, private payer policy changes and the regulation of health professionals. Many states extended expansions made during the pandemic, while others made them permanent. (CCHP)
While consumer and provider attitudes towards telehealth have improved, a few barriers—including perceptions of technology security—remain to be addressed to sustain adoption. (McKinsey)
Here at Viscardi, we know the power of telemedicine. Since we founded the company nearly twenty years ago, we’ve been offering telephonic case management services. We’ve seen, in real time, how distance-based care can drive down costs, provide quicker and more efficient care and offer support to many patients who otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity to work with a nurse case manager. If you’re interested in learning more about how our nurses can help, click here.