A new report from Doximity, a telemedicine platform for healthcare providers, shows that 83% of physician telemedicine users said they prefer that virtual care remain a permanent part of their clinical practice. 

The research also accounted for the views of telehealth patients. Over the past year, 96% of those surveyed reported equivalent or superior overall medical care, while 78% indicated that telehealth visits improved their access to healthcare services. 

WHY IT MATTERS

To examine the evolving role of telemedicine, researchers studied how digital applications contributed to patient outcomes and physician workflows by analyzing how physician members across all specialties and practice areas utilized telemedicine tools throughout 2023.

While 84% highlighted telemedicine’s value in improving continuity of care for patients with chronic or complex conditions, doctors credited virtual care for reducing patient wait times and missed appointments and addressing patients’ social determinants of health. 

Physicians of all age groups utilized telehealth, with those under the age of 50 accounting for nearly three-fourths (74%) of Doximity’s telemedicine users last year, according to the report. 

To supplement last year's opinion data, researchers also conducted a survey of 1,171 of its physician and 131 nurse practitioner telemedicine users across 10 specialties – cardiology, dermatology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, neurology, oncology, primary care, psychiatry, pulmonology and rheumatology – in August. 

"As physicians continue to integrate telemedicine into their practices, more than three-fourths (77%) of physician telemedicine users surveyed reported using it at least weekly and more than one-third reported using it daily," the new State of Telemedicine Report 2024 said.

Both physicians and patients told researchers that telemedicine has increased access to healthcare services and strengthened physician-patient communications. 

Among the patients surveyed for the study, 96% emphasized telehealth's role as a complement to or, depending on the patient, a replacement for in-person care. A strong majority of patients surveyed (82%) also said they believe telemedicine helps them stay up to date with their care. 

The majority of physicians reported telemedicine has contributed to better disease management and improved patient satisfaction, with 64% reporting telemedicine has helped to improve patient outcomes in their practices. 

With virtual visits, physicians can maintain regular touch points with their patients, the report said, noting that the specialties most likely to use telehealth for ongoing care management are endocrinology, urology, gastroenterology, rheumatology and neurology.

"Findings from this study indicate that telemedicine and in-person care are allies, not competitors, in providing timely, comprehensive and patient-focused care," Dr. Nate Gross, co-founder and chief strategy officer at Doximity, said in a statement Tuesday. 

Researchers concluded that looking ahead, most physicians and patients want to maintain access to telemedicine services, reinforcing previous evidence for a permanent role for telemedicine in healthcare.

THE LARGER TREND

Two years ago Doximity researchers found overwhelming patient interest in post-pandemic virtual care, suggesting a permanent place for telehealth in life beyond the pandemic. 

Digital innovation has been pushing providers to reinvent themselves to achieve the quadruple aim – where provider experience has been now added to the triple aim equation, a rubric of healthcare delivery.

However, the need to democratize access to care adds health equity to the equation. That's why proponents of telehealth continue to appeal to Congress to extend pandemic-era virtual care flexibilities once and for all. 

"Enhanced access to telehealth services serves as a lifeline to patients across the country, allowing patients to access critical healthcare services even when they have barriers to accessing in-person care, such as weakened immune systems, transportation challenges, geographic distance and more," several organizations said in a letter to lawmakers dated Dec. 11.

ON THE RECORD

"While in-person care continues to be a cornerstone of healthcare delivery, telemedicine serves as a valuable complement to this care," Goss said in a statement.

Andrea Fox is senior editor of Healthcare IT News.
Email: afox@himss.org
Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS Media publication.