COVID-19 Habits Offer a Rich Lesson in What Patients Like About Telemedicine

Unfounded or not, fear of visiting healthcare facilities (including urgent care centers) has resulted in many patients forgoing care during the COVID-19 crisis. However, the pandemic has also resulted in growing reliance on telemedicine—and, not coincidentally, in employment of telemedicine services among urgent care operators. A survey of 1,800 patients conducted by Doctor.com and published in the journal Patient Care revealed what moves patients to choose telemedicine for a given complaint, but also their preferences when it comes to telemedicine. According to the report, Telemedicine: Patient Preferences During COVID-19 and Beyond, preliminary screening for COVID-19 is a key driver of telemedicine services at this time; 34% of respondents say they would use telemedicine for that purpose. However, even that was overshadowed by the 48% of patients who said they would choose telemedicine for ear, nose, and throat complaints and the 40% who said they would use telemedicine for routine, preventive care. Thirty percent said they would use telemedicine for GI/stomach complaints, with 29% indicating it would be a good medium for pain management. There were distinct preferences regarding what device patients are likely to use for telemedicine, as well; 68% said they would use a smart phone for a telemedicine visit, compared with 48% who would use a laptop, 28% who would use a tablet, and 17% who would use their desktop computer.