Researchers from Ann Arbor-based Michigan Medicine conducted a study in August to determine if the costs hospitals pay for telehealth visits differ from in-person visits.
Here are 13 numbers that demonstrate their findings:
- Physicians spent more face-to-face time in virtual visits than in-person visits. Physicians, on average, spent 13.8 minutes in a virtual visit compared to 10.2 minutes when the visit was in person.
- A physician-led in-person visit cost the health system on average $26.84. When the visit was virtual, it cost $27.26. If the virtual visit was led by a physician assistant, the visit cost just $9.86.
- The health system compared 250 virtual visits and 250 in-person visits to determine if there was a difference in no-show rates. For video visits, 58 percent of patients completed their visit as scheduled, 33 percent of videos were canceled and 8 percent of patients no-showed their visit.
- When the visits were in person, 61 percent of patients completed their visit as scheduled, 33 percent of video visits were canceled and 5 percent of patients no-showed their visit.
- From check-in to check-out, the average cycle time for an in-person visit was 80 minutes. For video visits, the time was just 24 minutes.
- The health system analyzed 53,000 Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan telehealth insurance claims from 2011-17. Telehealth visits had a higher frequency of future related visits. However, this could represent excessive care or could reflect expanded access to care.