Before 2020, telehealth was only used a little, mostly in rural areas or for certain special medical fields. But the pandemic made telehealth grow very fast. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that in early 2020, telehealth visits went up by 50% compared to early 2019. In the last week of March 2020, telehealth use jumped by 154%, because of social distancing rules and new policies like CMS 1135 waivers and the CARES Act.
These new rules made it easier for patients to get care from home. They also allowed more doctors to offer telehealth and improved payment for these visits. The waivers removed old limits on where a patient could be to get care and let doctors see patients across state lines. For those who run clinics or medical offices, these changes helped get telehealth started quickly.
At first, telehealth use grew quickly because of the urgent need during the pandemic. Now, the number of telehealth visits has leveled off but stays much higher than before the pandemic. Providertech said telehealth visits now happen 38 times more than before the pandemic. This shows a new normal for virtual care.
Most early telehealth visits were from adults aged 18 to 49 years, making up 69% of appointments, and 63% of patients were women. These groups used telehealth the most. Telehealth also helped manage COVID-19 symptoms, making up as much as 16.2% of visits in late March 2020.
Even though many people started using telehealth, about 40% of Americans still waited to get medical care during the worst parts of the pandemic. Around 55% of these people had bad effects on their health because they delayed check-ups or treatments. Telehealth helped close some of these gaps, especially for people with high risks or ongoing illnesses.
Telehealth was also useful in rural areas where many people could not easily see specialty doctors. Studies showed that patients in rural places were mostly happy with telehealth. The health results were close to what people get in person, and telehealth saved travel time and costs. This helped doctors care for patients far away and made sure they got steady care.
After the pandemic, about 75% of patients want to keep using telehealth for managing long-term diseases. This is good news for doctors taking care of patients with diabetes, high blood pressure, and mental health problems, where checking regularly is important.
North Carolina’s Medicaid program showed how telehealth use can grow fast. In March 2020, the number of people using telehealth went from about 1,400 to over 45,000 by the end of the month. Although telehealth visits dropped a bit as vaccines came and rules changed, almost 89% of patients said their questions were answered during virtual visits. This shows many patients are comfortable with telehealth.
During the pandemic, federal and state rules changed fast to help telehealth grow. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) made new rules that let doctors bill telehealth visits the same as in-person visits. They also allowed more providers to use telehealth and let patients have virtual visits from home or other places outside clinics.
North Carolina’s Medicaid program made many of these rule changes permanent in 2021, making telehealth a regular way to get care. But by mid-2022, some limits came back. This means managers and owners of medical offices must watch regulations closely because they may keep changing.
Even with progress, some rules still cause problems for telehealth growth. Some doctors say they have trouble getting paid or meeting technology rules that limit what telehealth can do. Also, some waivers may go away after the emergency ends in May 2023. This could make telehealth harder to use.
Moving to virtual care showed that some groups have less access to telehealth. There are big differences in who uses telehealth depending on age, race, insurance, and income. The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) says video telehealth is less common than phone visits for some groups.
Older adults, minorities, people with low income, and Medicaid patients may have problems with internet, devices with cameras, knowing how to use technology, or privacy worries. For some rural or poor areas, phone calls are the main way to do telehealth.
Some behavioral health patients, especially teenagers, do not like video visits and prefer phone calls. Health managers need to balance what technology they use with what patients prefer and can use.
North Carolina Medicaid also shows some people do not have the tools for video visits. Still, providers say telehealth helps patients get care after hours, reduces emergency room visits, and supports special behavioral health needs.
Mental health and substance use care saw a big increase in telehealth during the pandemic. By 2021, nearly 40% of mental health outpatient visits were virtual. This helped with more cases of anxiety and depression, which went up a lot early in the pandemic, especially for young adults, women, and people who lost jobs at home.
The government made rules easier for opioid use disorder care, including take-home methadone and telehealth prescribing. Still, overdose death rates rose among Medicaid patients during the pandemic, showing the problems are not simple.
Telehealth also helped some behavioral health patients by giving private care without going in person. This helps them keep treatment. The new 988 national crisis hotline started in 2022 and gives more access to crisis help along with telehealth mental health services.
Doctors say it is important to keep telehealth options strong to meet mental health needs, especially in rural and poor areas where there are not many providers.
Artificial intelligence (AI) and automation tools are becoming helpful for telehealth. Medical office managers and IT workers need to understand these tools to make virtual care work better.
Some companies, like Simbo AI, offer AI systems that answer phones and handle appointments. Using AI can help schedule visits, answer patient questions, and send reminders without needing many staff members. This makes patients wait less and helps busy medical offices.
In virtual care, AI can do simple tasks like checking patient info, gathering basic health data, and reminding patients about upcoming telehealth visits. This lets doctors and staff spend more time on care and less on paperwork.
Automated front-office systems let patients ask questions and manage appointments anytime. Patients can easily reschedule or ask for telehealth visits, which helps them follow their care plans.
AI tools that connect to electronic health records (EHR) can help doctors find patients who need more care. For example, AI can flag patients who need screenings, lab tests, or follow-up visits. Then doctors can reach out to help them through telehealth.
AI virtual assistants can help patients track symptoms, remind them to take medicine, and give advice on healthy habits between telehealth visits. For behavioral health, this kind of help gives private and ongoing communication, which supports continuous care.
By using AI in telehealth, medical offices can reduce paperwork, lower costs, and keep patients happier.
Telehealth has become an important part of healthcare in the U.S. Changes in rules, patient demand, and new technology have made it grow. For medical office managers, owners, and IT workers, understanding these changes can help improve patient care, satisfaction, and how well the office runs after the pandemic.
Delayed medical care has led to increased morbidity, mortality, negative health consequences, poor health outcomes, and decreased patient satisfaction. Approximately 55% of those who delayed care experienced adverse health effects.
Telehealth usage has stabilized at levels 38 times higher than before the pandemic, with claim lines increasing nearly 3,000% between September 2019 and September 2020, driven by consumer and provider willingness and regulatory changes.
Closing gaps in care improves access, enhances population health outcomes, increases patient loyalty, and allows for better quality metrics and potential incentive dollars from payers.
Telehealth integrated with electronic health records helps providers spot care gaps more easily, especially for high-risk patients, and facilitates proactive patient management to reduce the risk of readmissions.
Telehealth provides convenience, reduces transportation issues, enables regular communication, and allows for better management of chronic diseases, with over 75% of patients wanting to continue its use for such management.
Convenience, maintenance of patient-provider relationships, effective communication, and reduced wait times contribute to high patient satisfaction, with 80% of users reporting positive experiences during the pandemic.
Telehealth expands access to specialty care for rural patients, enhancing satisfaction and reducing costs without compromising clinical outcomes compared to in-person visits.
Trust enhances treatment adherence and care effectiveness while lowering barriers to accessing services. Telehealth can help establish this trust with new patients, encouraging continued care.
Telehealth offers increased privacy for mental health patients, allowing them to seek and maintain treatment more easily without the stigma of in-person visits, leading to better outcomes.
Telehealth remains a resilient tool for patient engagement, providing ongoing access to care, supporting follow-up visits, and facilitating chronic disease management, thus improving overall health outcomes.
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