5. The use of telehealth has increased by over 50% since the start of 2020
Telehealth is way up from just 18% in 2018 and comes as no surprise as COVID-19 forced many medical practices to implement a remote option.
On one hand, regular medical appointments were severely impacted by the pandemic, and medical practices scheduled 63% fewer face-to-face check-ups as coronavirus emerged.
Telehealth appointments, on the other hand, shot up by 154% during the first week of March 2020. It looks as though telehealth may be here to stay.
74% of US consumers would use a telehealth service and 76% say that access to medical treatment is more important to them than human interaction. This also includes over 65’s as almost 60% stated that they’d be willing to manage a long-term condition virtually.
Furthermore, adopting telehealth could save the US healthcare industry a whopping $1,500 per visit and could save patients an average of 3 hours each time they need to see a doctor. By 2026, it’s estimated that the telehealth market will reach a staggering $186.5 billion.
6. 68% of patients say they’re more likely to choose medical providers that offer the ability to book, change, or cancel appointments online
New medical technology is becoming more and more popular, especially among Millennials and Gen Xers. Now, 68% of all patients expect to be able to book medical appointments online – this is up 17.2% from 2016. In fact, over half said they’d switch practices for the ability to book appointments online.
So, what’s causing this? Well, 35% of online medical appointments were booked outside of the typical 8 am – 5 pm timeframe and only 50% of people that phoned their doctor for an appointment were able to book the first time. The other half had to call back later. This is one of the many issues that online booking eliminates.
So, as far as convenience and ease of booking go, online appointment scheduling is well and truly in the lead.