Telehealth Usage Levels Off Since Height of Pandemic, But Remains Popular with Both Providers and Patients

By Consumers For Quality Care, on September 22, 2021

According to Healthcare Dive, a new survey from KLAS Research and the Center for Connected Medicine suggests that the percentage of telehealth patient visits appears to have leveled off following a drastic rise in usage during the COVID-19 pandemic

In April 2020, telehealth made up 70 percent of health care visits, compared to fewer than 0.01 percent before the pandemic. Even though the rate of usage of telehealth services has since fallen to about 20 percent of all appointments, many providers say they are still looking to expand virtual services to provide continued access to care while keeping costs down, particularly in rural areas.

Obstacles to expand telehealth, however, still exist, including patients’ access to technology and broadband and continued uncertainty over reimbursement. To provide equitable health care access for all, it is essential that lawmakers invest in telehealth services as we recover from this pandemic.