Telehealth Use During the PHE Presented Challenges, Opportunities

August 07, 2023 - A new study described the relationship between virtual and primary care that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic. The publication includes information on how survey data provided details on its benefits and disadvantages.

While innovation is necessary for effective healthcare, it can suffer due to limited resources. In modern healthcare, many innovative strategies are electronic or digital. Without proper technology and training, issues emerge.

Researchers distributed 36 electronic surveys to primary care providers. The goal was to gain a new perspective on the status of telehealth adoption, its barriers, and its benefits.

These surveys consisted of 4 parts: core questions, a new topical question, basic demographics, and the option to leave comments.

Ranging from 528 to 3,131, the number of respondents averaged 937 per part. Between 60 and 75 percent self-identified as family medicine clinicians. Other common specialties included pediatrics, internal medicine, and geriatrics.

In March 2020, 41 percent of respondents claimed their practice did not include video-based visits. However, two months later, this share dropped to 13 percent. The survey also indicated that more users incorporated telehealth tools during this time. Between May 8, 2020, and May 11, 2020, 32 percent of respondents obtained the necessary equipment.

Despite this uptake of telehealth at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, it eventually waned. Data showed that 38 to 45 percent of respondents used video-based care between October 2020 and January 2021 for at least 20 percent of patients. However, by November 2021, only 20 percent claimed to use video-based care.  

Alongside use, the study indicated that opinions changed over time. Despite the frustration that generally came with telehealth, many began to see it as essential. Payment, however, was a common issue.

Responsible for more than 50 percent of all ambulatory medical visits annually, primary care is the most common healthcare specialty. However, the study indicated that less than seven percent of national health expenditures are for primary care. None of this is for new technologies.

Meanwhile, telehealth implementation during the COVID-19 pandemic was delayed due to reimbursement and policy issues. Alongside these complications were technical challenges. Despite these issues, there were uncertainties surrounding the application of these lessons.

This study, however, provided insight into clinician perspectives of telehealth. Among the hardships and new practices surrounding healthcare during the pandemic, it presented learning opportunities. These experiences can assist researchers in creating a framework for future public health emergencies.

Prior research has included similar goals of exploring the relationships between primary care providers and telehealth.

Research from May indicated that Florida and New York primary care practice leaders faced various challenges when implementing telehealth. Including interviews with 25 leaders from 87 primary care practices, four themes related to telehealth adoption emerged.

The first theme noted that telehealth adoption depended on the history that patients and providers had with telehealth. Those with more prior experience had an easier time adapting to new standards.

While the second theme was that telehealth regulations varied across states, the third noted that telehealth visit-related triage rules were not well-established. Since some visit types were more suitable for telehealth, individual practices made many decisions. Independent practice decisions led to limited clarity and various approaches. The last theme provided details surrounding the positives and negatives of telehealth.

These findings note that more clarification of telehealth guidelines is necessary.

Between these two pieces of research, it is evident that telehealth contains both positives and negatives. Regardless, further clarification is needed.