Convenience and infection control are the top reasons patients opt for telehealth appointments, while the lack of human interaction and connectivity issues are the aspects they find most challenging, according to recent research from Deloitte.
Deloitte surveyed 2,009 U.S. consumers in March 2021. When asked to list up to two aspects they like best about attending virtual medical appointments, here's how the participants responded:
- Ease of attending appointments (44 percent)
- Reduced chances of contracting COVID-19 (43 percent)
- Ease of scheduling appointments (20 percent)
- Ability to see a physician more often (11 percent)
- Ability to share medical data with physician more easily (10 percent)
- Physician paying more attention than in in-person appointments (10 percent)
- Ability to conduct online research on what the physician is saying (9 percent)
- Physician's ability to share medical data more easily (8 percent)
- Physician having better qualifications than patient's in-person physician (5 percent)
When asked to list up to two aspects that made attending virtual visits challenging for them, here's how the participants responded:
- Lack of human touch/ face-to-face connection (28 percent)
- Physician's inability to collect patient's vital statistics (21 percent)
- Connectivity issues (17 percent)
- Video service being difficult to use (11 percent)
- Uncertainty about privacy/data protection (9 percent)
- Distractions from other online activities (8 percent)
- Difficulty booking the appointment (8 percent)
- Physician not being able to share patient's health information with them (7 percent)
- Physician not having the same qualifications as patient's in-person physician (5 percent)