Nearly Three Quarters of Clinicians Use Telehealth

Less than 3 years ago, barely more than half of healthcare providers used telemedicine and related services. Today, however, that proportion sits ag 71%, according to two new HIMSS Analytics studies that analyzed inpatient and outpatient telemedicine. The data indicate that “hub-and-spoke” models, in which the flow of care draws patients from lower acuity outpatient settings to larger, more comprehensive facilities, are the most popular, accounting for 59.6% of provider use. (These are more common in inpatient services than outpatient, however). In the outpatient setting, around 35% of providers use patient portal or patient-focused applications, followed by concierge services such as e-visits, remote patient monitoring, and consumer-grade remote monitoring from off-shelf devices and wearable devices. While urgent care was not reported as a standalone setting, pediatrics made up 20% of the user base, with general practice accounting for 13%. The studies’ authors concluded that telemedicine continues to grow, but confusion around reimbursement and clinician liability are obstacles to even more widespread adoption.