Telehealth is finally seeing a little more traction in acceptance and use, according to a recent survey from J.D. Power. In fact, telehealth adoption is set to grow as more consumers use the technology and recommend the service to others.
The findings are likely good news to healthcare organizations, as many, from CVS Health to Walmart and Amazon, to insurers like Humana and providers such as Cleveland Clinic, have recently added to their telehealth offerings.
For 2019, telehealth services received high customer satisfaction scores, with an overall score of 851 out of 1,000––among the highest of all healthcare, insurance and financial services industry studies. Another 46% of users actually rated their satisfaction as 900 or higher, according to the survey. Compared to telehealth, only direct banking customer satisfaction ranks higher.
Telehealth adoption may be modeled after acceptance of mobile banking technology, and growth is likely to continue.
“We are looking at telehealth services similar to mobile banking and its early adoption rates,” Greg Truex, managing director of health intelligence at J.D. Power, said in a statement. “Early attempts at trying to convince consumers to bank via their phone failed, and initiatives were abruptly canceled. Now, with mobile banking apps having grown to become the third-most-used application among consumers, we expect telehealth to follow a similar path."
However, the biggest proponent of telehealth adoption may be word of mouth. Two-thirds of those using telehealth used the service because they heard a positive recommendation from someone else––22% were recommended by a friend, family or colleague, 21% by a health plan, 20% by a primary care doctor, 18% from an employer and 15% from a health plan, hospital or another provider.
The majority of telehealth users also were able to solve their medical concerns during their visits (84%), which means the service is generally working for most people. Nearly three-fourths did not experience any issues or problems with their service and 87% described the enrollment process as somewhat or very easy.
Among direct-to-consumer brands, consumers liked Teladoc did the best, with a satisfaction score of 870. Doctor on Demand was second, with an 867 ranking; and MDLive was third with a rank of 847. Humana came in as the top payer of health plan-provided telehealth services, with a satisfaction ranking of 864, followed by Kaiser Foundation Health Plan (863) and Cigna (862).
However, providers still have a way to go to improve adoption and accessibility of telehealth services, according to the survey. Among consumers who said they don’t use telehealth, 29% said it was because it’s not available and 37% said they don’t even know if it’s offered by their health plan or system.
Amy joined TriMed Media as a Senior Writer for HealthExec after covering home care for three years. When not writing about all things healthcare, she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a pirate by sailing in regattas and enjoying rum. Fun fact: she sailed 333 miles across Lake Michigan in the Chicago Yacht Club "Race to Mackinac."