The global telehealth sector has massively evolved since the onset of the pandemic. The global remote work scenario culminated in the healthcare sector in the form of telehealth, or health services that were powered by digital technologies.
Being one of the global leaders in digital technologies, USA was among the foremost countries to incorporate delivery of healthcare services via digital channels. This post covers some of the preferences of patients which are receiving telehealth facilities.
The survey was conducted by Doximity, which is a telehealth platform for healthcare professionals. The sample size for this survey included 2,000 adults across USA. Almost half of the respondents had chronic illnesses.
This survey gives useful insights about how patients are viewing, and perceiving telehealth facilities across USA. 79% of the respondents said that would like to receive a phone call or text message, marking the beginning of their telehealth visit.
Survey respondents did not seem comfortable with the idea of simply waiting in virtual rooms, with little to no clue about when their healthcare providing would be joining the virtual consultancy or healthcare session.
The same ratio jumped even higher, from 79% to 81% of the respondents, when the sample size was restricted to patients with chronic illnesses. Another factor which emerged from this survey was prior acquaintance with the healthcare provider.
83% of the respondents said they were even prepared to wait, anywhere between two to three days, so they could be able to consult their existing healthcare provider, who knows their past medical history, instead of just any random healthcare professional.
The survey also revealed a preference among telehealth users for smartphones, instead of computers. 59% of the respondents said they would prefer to receive telehealth services over mobile devices.
On the contrary, only 38% of the respondents said they feel more comfortable taking telehealth visits over a computer. Lastly, the lack of reliable broadband connectivity, across certain areas of USA, emerged as a serious limiting factor for seamless telehealth services.
Regardless of this constraint, the survey clearly indicates that patients are prepared to adapt to this new concept of telehealth. One of the suggested remedies for sub-par telehealth experiences is adopting mobile first telehealth solutions.
73% of the respondents were prepared to receive telehealth facilities in the future as well, despite the few constraints. When the sample size was restricted to patients with chronic illnesses, 80% of them wanted to continue receiving healthcare via digital channels.
One thing is quite evident from this survey, telehealth is here to stay, and technology will catch up, sooner than later.
