Twenty percent state that they would change a doctor for one that offers video visits.
According to a survey by American Well, a telehealth company:
- Approximately 66% of patients say they delay seeking medical care
- 36% think the problem will go away
- 23% complain about costs
- 23% say the wait to see the doctor is too long
- 13% are too busy
A full third of those delaying a medical consultation had a serious health problem by survey results. The thing is, by ignoring the medical issue, conditions typically worsen as does skipping regular health care.
The answer to this dilemma according to the survey is- Video doctor visits. A full 2 out of every 3 patients state that they would see a doctor by video which alleviates trail and waiting room time. This can slash time by up to more than 2 hours before actually seeing the doctor. Actual consults online last 10 minutes on average and typically have only 5 minutes of wait time to get connected to the physician. Besides being more convenient, the copay may be less than an in-office visit.
Despite these findings, 94-95% of primary care doctors fail to offer video telehealth.
Mary Modahl, the chief marketing officer for American Well points out:
“Video visits are a significant change for most PCPs. They have a certain process in the office—patient comes in, staff goes through paperwork with the patient, patient gets in their gown, doctor takes the clipboard off wall and examines patient. This has remained the same since the 1950s.” “Consumers have now had experiences in other industries—shopping, banking—where things don’t need to be so hard, and healthcare has been slower to adapt, so now that the technology is available, they’re ready for it.”
Since one in five patients would change providers for those that offer video visits, it really should be an option that doctors offer. Statistics show that patients seeking telehealth are comprised of:
- 26% between ages 18-34
- 30% between 35-44
- 34% of parents
If your patient base is within these age ranges, it behoves you to check out telehealth (and get with the times!) if you don’t want to see your practice plummet almost over night.
Additional statistics
- 79% want telehealth when caring for an elderly parent
- 78% want video consults for prescription refills
- 60% want video visits for chronic care management
- 52% post-surgical follow-up visits and hospital discharge
- 50% would use telehealth for birth control consultations
- 20% want video consults for problems that arise at night after office hoursModahl strongly points out that telehealth is face-to-face medicine:
“This is where technology has made a breakthrough in just the last several years,” she says. “Today, it’s possible for consumers to see their doctor over video from home and work on mobile devices where video and audio work really well. This has only happened in the last five years as the technology has become available.”
Are you using video consultations yet? What has been your take on it? Share your experiences in the comment box below.
