Telemedicine is expected to account for more than 20 percent of all medical visits conducted in the U.S. in 2020, representing a total of $29 billion in healthcare services, according to a Sept. 16 Doximity report.
For its 2020 State of Telemedicine Report, Doximity researchers analyzed data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's Medical Expenditure Panel Survey and private claims data that show the growth rate in virtual visits during the first half of 2020. Doximity also surveyed 2,000 U.S. adults and examined physician adoption insights from its telemedicine network for the report.
Five report insights:
1. With more than 20 percent of healthcare visits being delivered via telemedicine this year, Doximity anticipates virtual care to transform the majority of Medicare, Medicaid and privately insured office visits in the coming years.
2. Telemedicine will also replace a large percentage of emergency department visits and play a more prominent role in home healthcare support, accounting for upwards of $106 billion by 2023.
3. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the number of U.S. adults who have participated in at least one telemedicine visit has increased by 57 percent. Pre-pandemic, 86 percent of respondents said they had never done a virtual care visit.
4. From 2015-18, physicians who self-reported telemedicine as a skill had been rising by 20 percent year over year. That number has increased to 38 percent between 2019 and 2020.
5. Women physicians are 24 percent more interested in telemedicine job opportunities compared to their male colleagues.
Click here to view the full report.