Dive Brief:
- Just 15% of U.S. doctors believe their state is doing a good job on telehealth, rating state efforts either “well” or “very well,” according to a new survey by SERMO, a global social network for physicians.
- 41% of 1,651 U.S.-based respondents gave their state “fair” marks on telehealth implementation, while 44% said state telehealth programs are “poor” or “very poor.”
- A separate poll of international physicians found 19% had favorable feelings about telehealth adoption, compared with 43% who did not.
Dive Insight:
Ohio received the most praise, where 22% of physicians responded “well” or “very well.” California was close behind with a 20% positive rating. At the other end of the spectrum were New Jersey and New York — rated “poor” or “very poor” by 59% and 51% of doctors, respectively.
Telehealth adoption has seen progress in recent years, but also some setbacks. While state medical boards have more guidance specific to remote types of care versus in-person care, insistence on requirements like an additional patient informed consent have dampened physician satisfaction.
All state Medicaid agencies now cover some types of telehealth services, according to the American Telemedicine Association, helping to increase access to care. And consumers are demanding such care. In a recent American Well survey, 20% of respondents said they would switch their primary care provider to gain access to telehealth services.
A growing number of health systems are partnering with telehealth companies to provide telemedicine options to their patients. Earlier this week, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Health Plan said it would begin offering emergency telehealth services to patients across the state of Pennsylvania via a smartphone-enabled app.