35% of patients would consider leaving their primary provider for telehealth visits

The healthcare industry has been rapidly digitalizing its services since the start of the pandemic. As more in-person provider appointments become available, many patients would still prefer a telehealth visit, according to a recent study by The Harris Poll.

Healthcare is among the top three industries doing the best job at digitally adapting its services to the evolving needs of consumers, the study found. 

Nine things healthcare leaders should know about the poll's findings:

1. Forty-four percent of respondents prefer in-person healthcare visits, followed by a hybrid model of in-person and telehealth visits (42 percent) and telehealth as the primary form of care (15 percent).
   
   
2. Thirty-five percent of the general public would consider replacing their primary care providers with qualified physicians on demand via telehealth.
   
   
3. Half of millennials and Gen Zers surveyed said they would consider replacing their primary physicians with telehealth providers.
   
   
4. Nearly half of older adults aged 65+ (48 percent) said they will likely use telehealth after the pandemic.
   
   
5. More than half (53 percent) of all Americans said telehealth appointments are good for asking medical questions, followed by reviewing lab tests (48 percent) and prescription refills (46 percent).
   
   
6. Yet, only 34 percent of respondents said they would use telehealth if they were actually sick and 15 percent if their child is sick.
   
   
7. Seventy-six percent said they would miss in-person visits with their primary care provider if their provider moved to mostly telehealth.
   
   
8. Hispanic populations reported being the most likely to replace an in-person primary care physician with a telehealth provider at 52 percent potentially willing to do so, followed by Black respondents (43 percent), Asian respondents (40 percent) and white respondents (32 percent).
   
   
9. Households with higher income levels are more likely to leave their primary care provider for telehealth services, with 45 percent of those with a household income of about $100,000 willing to consider it, followed by 32 percent of those with a household income between $50,000 and $99,000 and 30 percent of those with a household income lower than $50,000.