Telemedicine holds strong potential to democratize healthcare, but its use remains unequal, a Dec. 13 report shows.
Rock Health conducted a digital health consumer adoption survey that asked 7,980 U.S adults about their relationship to digital health.
Five things to know about the demographics of telemedicine users:
- More urban residents used telemedicine (80 percent) than suburban respondents (72 percent) and rural respondents (60 percent).
- The most likely users of telemedicine were younger users, educated users, high earners and those with chronic conditions.
- Those who used telemedicine the most also reported the highest rates of expected continued or increased telemedicine use.
- Nonwhite respondents were significantly more likely to use telemedicine than white respondents. The share of non-white respondents using telemedicince increased by 8 percentage points from 2020, making 77 percent of non-white respondents telehealth patients.
- The least likely to use telemedicine were adults above 55 years old, those making less than $35,000 annually, rural residents, the uninsured and those without prescriptions. This suggests telehealth may not be reaching some of the most vulnerable populations.