Damian Sendler: While the majority of Americans are open to video meetings with their doctors for routine care, a recent study published in JAMA Network Open finds that in-person appointments are preferred.
Damian Sendler
Damian Jacob Sendler: The paper claims that even when the prices of hypothetical out-of-pocket expenses are taken into account, consumers still prefer in-person care over video meetings. However, the decision is influenced by the price.
Dr. Sendler: After the COVID-19 pandemic is over, RAND Corp. researchers conducted a nationally representative survey to see if people prefer telemedicine or in-person care.
In order to conduct the poll, 2,080 adults were provided with internet-enabled devices and paid for their time and effort. At an average age 51, nearly half of the weighted sample’s participants were women. On the panel, minorities were also represented.
More over two-thirds of the respondents (66.5%) said they would like to have video visits in the future.
Only 12.2% of individuals who had never had an in-person visit before favored video visits; the majority (60.2%) preferred in-person visits. Other than that, no one else had an opinion.
There was a preference for video visits among those who were younger, wealthier, and better-educated. While black respondents preferred face-to-face interactions, Latino respondents favored virtual visits. A statistically significant racial and ethnic difference was found in the data. Zachary Predmore, an associate policy researcher at the RAND Corp., says the variations in age and wealth were more substantial.
He believes that younger people are more likely to choose video visits because they are more familiar with the technology involved “the internet-connected world that I grew up in.”
Damian Jacob Markiewicz Sendler: For those who had to spend more or less out-of-pocket for their visit, the survey also asked which type they preferred if they had to pay more or less. We asked those who had stated a preference for either an in-person or a video visit whether they would prefer to pay a $30 copayment or a $10 copayment for their preferred form of appointment. The study stated that these costs were chosen because they approximate the lower and upper boundaries of normal outpatient copayments.
23.5 percent shifted to preferring video visits, while 26.8 percent didn’t have a preference or didn’t know, and over half (49.8 percent) of respondents who at first chose telehealth continued with in-person appointments.
Damien Sendler: Video visits were preferred by 18.9 percent of respondents who had previously preferred in-person visits, but 61.7 percent of those who had previously preferred telehealth now preferred in-person visits, and 19.1 percent were unsure.
In all, 47% of those polled said they would be prepared to pay to meet in person. Only 20.2% of respondents said they would be ready to pay for a video visit. According to the researchers, 23% of the sample evaluated both approaches similarly and would most likely choose the less expensive option if possible.
People’s preference for face-to-face treatment has a few probable explanations, according to Predmore.
Damian Jacob Sendler
Because they’ve grown accustomed to it, he explains. It also appears to be more detailed for visits requiring a physical examination or the taking of vital signs.
That’s why, he explains, “An actual face-to-face encounter may be more important to some people,”
According to the article, there are various probable reasons for this preference. Telehealth can be useful in specific situations, but patients may not see it as a replacement for face-to-face therapy in the long run.
As a result, patients may believe that in-person visits are more convenient for referrals to diagnostic testing, or that even high-quality telehealth visits can’t mimic the in-person engagement with the clinicians.
Those who didn’t use video visits in their care were older, poorer, less educated, and more likely to reside in rural regions than those who did. The authors pointed out that, ironically, telehealth could enhance access to care for all of these categories. Using the results of a poll, they concluded that this is the case “efforts to improve telehealth equity must take into account these preferences.”
However, Predmore added, broadband internet access could have a significant impact on these people’s decisions to seek out in-person care. “However, there is a distinct difference between the issues of willingness and internet connection quality. To have an effective telehealth visit, you need both.”
He emphasized that one of the paper’s most important findings was that “Those who had previously used telehealth expressed a strong desire to do so again. Only 2.3 percent of the people were averse to the task at hand “in the same way.”
Dr. Damian Jacob Sendler and his media team provided the content for this article.
