15 Things to Know From Three New TeleHealth Studies

by Clive Riddle, October 8, 2020

July results from Fair Health's Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker tells us that telehealth use continues to increase significantly during this COVID -19 year compared to last year, use has decreased somewhat from the previous month, and mental health conditions continue to be the number one telehealth diagnosis. The data represent the privately insured population, excluding Medicare and Medicaid. Launched in May as a free service, the Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker uses FAIR Health data to track how telehealth is evolving from month to month.

Here's four things to know from their just released July data:

1. Telehealth claim lines (an individual service or procedure listed on an insurance claim) increased 3,806 percent nationally from July 2019 to July 2020, rising from 0.15 percent of medical claim lines in July 2019 to 6.00 percent in July 2020
2. While increasing greatly from 2019 to 2020, telehealth claim lines fell 12 percent nationally on a month-to-month basis, from 6.85 percent of medical claim lines in June 2020 to 6.00 percent in July 2020.
3. In July, mental health conditions continued to be the number one telehealth diagnosis nationally and in every region, as they had been since March 2020. Nationally, mental health conditions represented 45 percent of telehealth claim lines in July 2020, compared to 37 percent in July 2019.
4. Trends in the four US census regions (Midwest, Northeast, South and West) were similar to those in the nation as a whole. The Northeast had the greatest percent increase in volume of any region from July 2019 to July 2020: 8,987 percent. From June to July 2020, it also had the greatest percent decrease: 16 percent.

Last week J.D. Power released findings from its 2020 U.S. Telehealth Satisfaction Study, their second annual examination of patient satisfaction with telehealth services, measuring consumer telehealth service experience based on four factors (in order of importance): customer service (42%); consultation (28%); enrollment (19%); and billing and payment (11%). Here’s six things to know from their findings:

1. The overall customer satisfaction score for telehealth services is 860 (on a 1,000-point scale), which is among the highest of all healthcare, insurance and financial services industry studies conducted by J.D. Power.
2. 52% of telehealth users say they encountered at least one barrier that made it difficult to use telehealth. The most common hurdles are limited services (24%); confusing technology requirements (17%); and lack of awareness of cost (15%). Additionally, 35% of telehealth users indicate they experienced a problem during a visit. Tech audio issues (26%) are the most common problem.
3. Overall satisfaction is 117 points lower among patients with the lowest self-reported health status than among patients who consider themselves to be in excellent health.
4. Among patients who used a telehealth offering this year, 46% say their top reason for choosing telehealth was safety. That compares with just 13% in 2019.
5. Cigna ranks highest among payers of health plan-provided telehealth services with a score of 874. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan (867) ranks second and UnitedHealthcare (865) ranks third.
6. Amwell ranks highest in telehealth satisfaction among direct-to-consumer brands, with a score of 885. Doctor on Demand (879) ranks second.

Speaking of Amwell, they have just released findings from their 2020 Physician and Consumer Survey. Here’s five telehealth things to know from their study:

1. The shift toward scheduled visits and specialty care is one of the most pronounced trends in telehealth usage during COVID-19. During the pandemic, patients were far more likely to use telehealth for scheduled visits, especially with providers they already knew. Just 21% of consumers who reported having a virtual visit had an on-demand urgent care visit in 2020. By contrast, 54% had a scheduled visit with their primary care physician.
2. In 2020, 42% of consumers who reported having a virtual visit had a scheduled visit with a specialist they already knew, and another 13% had a virtual visit with a new specialist.
3. The number of consumers who’ve had a virtual visit has nearly tripled since last year. What’s more, 59% of consumers who’ve had a video visit had their first one during the pandemic, and 91% of patients reported being “very” or “somewhat” satisfied with the visit.
4. Among providers, the percentage of those who have used telehealth nearly quadrupled since last year, and 84% said they were “very” or “somewhat” satisfied with one or more telehealth platforms. 96% of physicians said they were willing to use telehealth, with a sizable majority saying they’d be willing to use it for prescription renewals (94%), regular chronic care management check-ins (93%), and follow-up visits after surgery or hospital stays (71%).
5. During COVID-19, physicians most frequently cited technology challenges as a barrier to telehealth adoption at their organization (72%), followed by uncertainty around reimbursement (64%) and questions about clinical appropriateness (58%).