Telehealth Is Here to Stay, but Change Needed to Expand Access: Survey
In February 2021, We Worked With Public Opinion Strategies To Poll 1,200 Americans About Healthcare Today
As a direct-to-consumer, digital health company, Hims & Hers has simplified connecting patients to high quality, licensed healthcare providers for medical consultations and treatment across all 50 states. Since our company’s founding in 2017, our telehealth platforms have powered more than two million digital healthcare visits across a variety of conditions. While we have made great strides in helping more people access care, we are aware that many people still face challenges in accessing healthcare.
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed our lives in many ways. While more people than ever have been seeking virtual care from the comfort of their home, we wanted to gain a deeper understanding of how people were feeling about doing this, as well as other changes that could lay bare disparities for the industry to consider.
In February, we worked with nationally renowned polling firm Public Opinion Strategies to ask 1,200 American adults in detail about accessing healthcare and what could be done to improve care. The survey respondents reflect the demographics of the U.S. population, and we’re excited to share the results.
Challenges Accessing Care
More than one-half of survey respondents reported facing challenges with access to care and navigating the healthcare system. Cost was a top concern when accessing care, a majority (52%) of respondents say reducing healthcare costs such as premiums and deductibles is their most important healthcare issue. And while the pandemic raged across the country last year, more than one-third of respondents (37%) say they delayed care because of cost.
Provider shortages, a lack of transportation, poor Internet speeds and a lack of digital literacy, are other challenges that make it hard for millions of Americans to access care close by. In fact, nearly six-in-ten respondents (58%) say access to medical care is a problem where they live. Among underserved patient populations the numbers are even higher, particularly in communities of color. Black adults (73%) and Hispanic adults (78%) are much more likely than white adults (54%) to say they struggle to access the healthcare system.
Hims & Hers is dedicated to making it simpler and less stressful to access care for potentially embarrassing conditions. A majority of respondents (53%) said they have been uncomfortable talking to a healthcare provider in their adult life about a medical issue, or they have avoided care in the last few years because the healthcare system is too complicated (or both).
Increased Use of Telehealth
The pandemic has highlighted the unique benefits of telehealth for providing quality care while keeping patients and healthcare providers safe.
One-in-two respondents say they have now had a telehealth visit, up from 10% in June 2019, 29% in April 2020 and 43% in August 2020. Other recently conducted surveys have found similar results, which is a testament to the climbing adoption of telehealth. For example, a national survey from Consumers For Quality Care conducted in January 2021 found 55% of respondents have used telehealth.
The COVID-19 pandemic has predictably driven this uptick in utilization, but most respondents believe (and expect) that it is here to stay with nearly three-quarters of those who have used telehealth say they plan to continue using it once the pandemic is under control.
Support for Expanding Telehealth Access
Current federal and state laws and regulations limit in some cases the modalities that may be used by providers in delivery care via telehealth, and many states still require the use of synchronous (i.e., “real-time”) video during consultations. As our survey indicates, there is broad support for expanding access to asynchronous telehealth services across the board.
In addition to asynchronous being convenient for patients, it is very popular. A majority of respondents (53%) support expanding asynchronous modality, with net support of a comfortable +23% (30% oppose) and, like many newer concepts, a full 17% do not have an opinion. Support is higher among underserved populations who may not be able to access telehealth services synchronously. Allowing patients to interact with healthcare providers when and where it makes sense for them (before or after work, from a Wi-Fi hotspot, etc.), would enable more people to get the care they need.
Embracing asynchronous policy changes would be a win for lawmakers as well, as a plurality of respondents (44%) say they would be more favorable toward a political candidate who supports expanding access to medical care by increasing telehealth access. Support for this is not partisan either, Democrats and Republicans are aligned on this issue, as a majority of Democrats (56%) and a plurality of Republicans (40%) say they would be more favorable toward a political candidate who expanded telehealth access.
What This Means for the Future
Propelled by the COVID-19 crisis, awareness and use of telehealth has grown dramatically over the past year. As our lives have increasingly moved online, so too has the delivery of healthcare. Patients want to receive telehealth care in the way that works best for them and this is increasingly a combination of synchronous real-time video consultation and asynchronous or “store-and-forward” interactions between providers and patients. Based on this representative survey, Americans want to be in control of their care and would like to see legislators allow for both of these options.
