Currently, 42 percent of U.S. acute-care hospitals have telehealth capabilities, according to a 2012 survey from the American Hospital Association. However, rates of telehealth adoption vary significantly among type and location of hospitals, according to an article in Health Affairs.
Researchers analyzed telehealth adoption among the 2,891 hospitals that responded to the AHA's survey. The results showed the following factors had the most influence on whether a hospital implemented a telehealth program:
IT capabilities: No significant association was found between whether a hospital had an electronic health record system and whether it had a telehealth program. However, hospitals with greater technological capabilities — as measured by the presence of a cardiac intensive care unit — were more likely than others to have adopted telehealth.
Rurality: Researchers found population density to be inversely associated with telehealth adoption, and hospitals in less competitive markets were approximately 50 percent more likely to have a telehealth program.
State policies: The study suggests state laws and regulations regarding telehealth had the strongest influence on adoption. State policies that required private payers to reimburse for telehealth services to the same extent as face-to-face services made hospitals more likely to adopt telehealth. Conversely, state policies that required out-of-state providers to have special licenses when delivering telehealth services to Medicaid patients made hospitals less likely to adopt telehealth.
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