Telehealth Research, Reports and Surveys
Connected Nation: Bringing Health Care Home: Telehealth Trends in Rural Michigan (12/16) – Connected Nation Michigan conducted a survey of households in five rural Michigan counties (Dickinson, Gladwin, Osceola, Roscommon, and Sanilac County) in 2021. These surveys show that rural residents in these areas are not only embracing telehealth at a growing rate, but many have no intention to return to the pre-pandemic ways of exclusively in-person medical visits.
Here are five key findings from the 2021 report:
- The five counties' telehealth usage represented a savings of nearly $13.6 million in one year for 15-minute visits to general practitioners.
- Adults age 54 and younger, as well as households with children, are the most likely to interact with healthcare providers online.
- The most popular way rural populations interact with healthcare providers is via email, followed by interacting on a provider's website, through video visits and through texting.
- Forty-two percent of respondents said they started using telehealth less than 12 months ago.
- Seventy-five percent of respondents said they plan to continue using telehealth as much as they do now in the next year. Another 6 percent said they plan to use telehealth more frequently.
Pew Charitable Trusts: State Policy Changes Could Increase Access to Opioid Treatment via Telehealth (12/14) – Emerging research shows that allowing telehealth-based opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment during the pandemic helped patients initiate and remain on medication treatment, and that patients stayed in treatment and abstained from illicit opioids at rates comparable to those who received in-person care. As states have broad latitude to develop their own laws and regulations governing the use of telehealth, this issue brief discusses recommendations states should consider for telehealth policies that remove restrictions and provide proper reimbursement for prescribers of medications for OUD and opioid treatment via telehealth.
The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research: Telehealth and Equity (12/15) – Use of telehealth has been common during the pandemic among adults age 50 and older, according to a survey of adults age 50 and older by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The convenience of finding an appointment, meeting with a specific provider, and getting an immediate response are the top reasons for choosing telehealth over in-person care. On the other hand, about two-thirds of respondents worry that the care they receive through telehealth wouldn’t be as effective as care they receive in person.
Topline Results:
- Since the pandemic started, 62% of adults age 50 and older have used some form of telehealth, the AP-NORC poll found.
- The poll found that those who received care through telehealth were generally comfortable with it. Roughly 6 in 10 said they were at least somewhat likely to seek such remote care after the pandemic ends.
- 2/3 of adults concerned telehealth not as effective as an in-person visit
- Nonwhite respondents are especially likely to see telehealth as a way to avoid COVID-19 exposure. But they are also more concerned than white respondents about the security of their health information, both for telehealth and in-person care.
View the press release and report
as well as coverage from Modern Healthcare
Rock Health-Stanford Center of Digital Health: Consumer adoption of telemedicine in 2021 (12/13) – Telemedicine holds strong potential to democratize healthcare, a Rock Health report shows. Rock Health conducted a digital health consumer adoption survey that asked 7,980 U.S adults about their relationship to digital health.
Five things to know about the demographics of telemedicine users:
- More urban residents used telemedicine (80 percent) than suburban respondents (72 percent) and rural respondents (60 percent).
- The most likely users of telemedicine were younger users, educated users, high earners and those with chronic conditions.
- Those who used telemedicine the most also reported the highest rates of expected continued or increased telemedicine use.
- Nonwhite respondents were significantly more likely to use telemedicine than white respondents. The share of non-white respondents using telemedicince increased by 8 percentage points from 2020, making 77 percent of non-white respondents telehealth patients.
- The least likely to use telemedicine were adults above 55 years old, those making less than $35,000 annually, rural residents, the uninsured and those without prescriptions. This suggests telehealth may not be reaching some of the most vulnerable populations.
|