Patients and physicians like telehealth and want it to continue after the pandemic comes to an end, according to one of the largest studies to examine the mode of practice during COVID-19. But there’s work to be done to make the most of the technology going forward.
Do you enjoy carving hours out of your busy day to get a few minutes of face time with a doctor? If you don't, you're not alone. If we've learned anything over the past year and a half, it's that Americans are hungry for medical services that can be provided without the rest of the doctor's office experience.
Having been involved in the evaluation, planning and use of telemedicine for over 25 years statewide, nationally and internationally, and as prior medical director of the Center for Telehealth at the University of New Mexico and now professor emeritus, I strongly believe the motivation for using telemedicine is improving access to care, not profit. Health professionals should be reimbursed appropriately for health care services provided through telemedicine, and the New Mexico state Legislature has passed bills that have been signed into law recognizing telemedicine as a legitimate means of proving care and that those services should be reimbursed appropriately. Medicare and Medicaid provide means of being reimbursed for covered services provided via telemedicine, as do most health care insurance companies.
The pandemic spurred an enormous increase in telehealth—providers treating patients via remote communications, such as video chats. I often assert that telehealth will lower costs and raise the quality of care. Recently, an astute public official asked me whether data exist to prove this—and whether polls exist indicating that people really want to use telehealth. Great questions.
Earlier in the pandemic it was vital to see doctors over platforms like Zoom or FaceTime when in-person appointments posed risks of coronavirus exposure. Insurers were forced — often for the first time — to reimburse for all sorts of virtual medical visits and generally at the same price as in-person consultations.
As the coronavirus constrained the public’s ability to visit their doctors as normal, the telehealth industry quickly took flight. Shares of pure-plays Teladoc Health and Hims and Hers HIMS more than doubled from February 2020 into early 2021, while Massachusetts-based American Well capitalized on telehealth demand to stage a stellar IPO debut late in 2020, soaring nearly 50% on its first day of trading.