Interactive & Digital Marketing: Facts & Figures

The large majority of patient respondents to a survey by Doctor.com (83 percent) say they will likely use telemedicine even after the pandemic ends. 55 percent of patients are willing to use telemedicine to see new doctors, and 69 percent convey that “easy-to-use technology” would help them decide to make a telemedicine appointment.

Among patients who had to cancel or reschedule an appointment due to COVID-19, more than one third want to use telemedicine to resume care as soon as possible. Regarding new doctors, while 55 percent of patients would use telemedicine to seek care with a new doctor, 40 percent would only see a new doctor virtually if they had a referral or the physician had excellent online ratings and reviews.

According to the Doctor.com survey, the top three reasons that would encourage a patient to use telemedicine are easy-to-use technology (69 percent), communication from the hospital or practice that such services are available (57 percent), and online scheduling options for a virtual appointment (47 percent).

The survey also suggests that telemedicine can impact prescription adherence. 91 percent of patients agree that telemedicine would help them adhere to appointments and manage prescription refills while 93 percent say they would use telemedicine to learn about and access new medications.

“COVID-19 has naturally fast-tracked the adoption of telemedicine by both patients and physicians as a necessary means to access care,” says Andrei Zimiles, CEO of Doctor.com. “And as telemedicine becomes part of a ‘new normal,’ it is critical that providers begin shifting their long-term care strategies to incorporate virtual care and meet patients’ rapidly evolving expectations for this channel. For example, patients are looking for easy ways to request virtual appointments when they’re searching for care on provider directories and consumer health websites. They are also turning to online reviews from other patients to give them a sense of what the virtual experience with a given physician will be like, making it more important than ever for hospitals and medical practices to engage patients to share feedback on popular healthcare sites.”

Source: “Telemedicine adoption in the age of COVID-19 and beyond,” Doctor.com