Increased use of telehealth allows for wider use as a diagnostic and triage tool, especially among people with chronic diseases.
WHY IT IMPORTANT
The new study, based on Dynata’s survey of 2,000 US adults commissioned by Athenahealth conducted in June and July of this year, and data on booked and completed appointments through Athenahealth’s electronic health record shows that telehealth is now integrated into the care process.
“Our data shows that after the peak of the pandemic, many physicians continue to rely on telehealth, because they see value,” said Jessica Sweeney-Platt, vice president of research strategy and editorial at Athenahealth. great that it can bring”. .
The use of telehealth is particularly evident in people with chronic illnesses.
While 24% of those surveyed said their health concerns did not warrant an in-person visit, 23% of respondents said their telemedicine visits were follow-up visits. schedule related to chronic diseases and 9% used telehealth as well as intensive care for their condition.
Respondents with chronic conditions reported using telehealth as an alternative as well as between visits to help manage their condition, indicating telehealth is serving a previously unrecognized proactive healthcare need. response.
Telehealth has also increased patient willingness to seek mental health care, with 25% of survey respondents saying they chose telehealth sessions to address mental health conditions. new.
Twenty-three percent share that they are more likely to request mental health support because a telehealth system is available to them.
The findings also showed usage patterns based on gender and race. EHR data from January 1, 2019 to April 30, 2022, evaluated in the study, shows that in 2021 male providers are more likely to provide telehealth services 24% more than their female counterparts.
Provider gender also affects patient use of telehealth. Patients who worked with a single male provider had a 60% lower acceptance rate than patients with only one female provider.
In addition, previous research has shown that female doctors tend to spend more time with patients, which may further explain the higher adoption of telehealth among females than males. Women doctors use telehealth as an additional tool to connect with patients,” said Sweeney -Platt.
The study also found that Black and Hispanic patients were more likely to use telemedicine services, but less likely to do so with a dedicated provider, indicating greater access to care. care improved but did not improve continuity of care.
TREND TO BIGGER WOMAN
An earlier study of 40.7 million commercially insured adults in the United States – a nationally representative study – published earlier this year found that patients with the condition Acute clinical first-time care via telehealth is more likely to be followed up in the emergency room. or hospital admissions who sought direct care.
When it comes to chronic conditions, however, follow-up is less likely for those with initial telehealth, finding telehealth comparable to in-home care. place.
Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, along with collaborators from Blue Health Intelligence and the Digital Medicine Consortium, compared face-to-face meetings and telehealth by using examines the factors involved in changing telehealth usage patterns after the early months of the pandemic.
ON PROFILE
“Our study sheds light on the important role telehealth plays in patient care. Not only does it help increase access to care, but it can also promote better patient outcomes when used. used as an extension of in-person visits to provide continuum of care,” said Sweeney-Platt in publishing the findings.
“Telehealth is now a core tenet of healthcare delivery in the US,” said Greg Carey, director of legal and government affairs at Athenahealth. legal and government affairs at Athenahealth, said, according to a prepared statement about telehealth delivering on its promises on the company’s website.
Correction: The original version of the article indicated that the Dynata survey was of AthenaOne network patients.
Andrea Fox is the senior editor of Healthcare IT News.
Email: [email protected]
Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS publication.
