Americans Like Telehealth Visits and Want More

After a year in pandemic lockdown, Americans’ perception of visiting their doctors virtually rather than in-person has changed dramatically. The vast majority likes having a telemedicine option and want it to continue. So concludes a new survey by Sykes that polled 2,000 Americans in March on how their opinions on virtual care have changed within the past year. What a Difference a Pandemic Makes Before COVID-19, virtual care was more of a concept than a reality, one hampered by regulatory and insurance requirements. An earlier Sykes Survey from March 2020 found that fewer than 20 percent had ever had a telemedicine appointment. COVID-19, however, proved a game changer as the government and insurers temporarily lifted previous restrictions so that homebound patients could seek medical care and advice safely from a distance. Thus, in the Sykes survey from March 2021, 61 percent of respondents reported having had a telehealth visit. Source: Sykes Attitudes have Changed Given the opportunity and impetus to try out virtual health, most seem to have liked the experience and want to keep doing it. A year ago, roughly 65 percent of Americans said they felt hesitant or doubtful about the quality of telemedicine, and 56 percent did […]