As Telehealth Spike Slows, Providers Seek Innovation to Increase Engagement and New Use Cases

Telehealth came into its own during the pandemic, safely filling a need while introducing millions to the upside of digital health. With the sense of medical urgency now dialed down, digital healthcare’s mission is staying relevant by improving engagement and experience.

A hero of the pandemic, telehealth went from peripheral to essential seemingly overnight.

A U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) report in March found that “Over 28 million Medicare beneficiaries used telehealth during the first year of the pandemic. This was more than 2 in 5 Medicare beneficiaries. In total, beneficiaries used 88 times more telehealth services during the first year of the pandemic than they used in the prior year.”

Noting that telehealth is most used in place of office visits, HHS found Medicare members engaged more with telehealth for mental health, offering insights into the use cases that will keep engagement in telehealth growing now that office visits are normalizing.

See also: Teladoc Says Overcrowded Telehealth Field Is Slowing Growth for Fittest Players

The Engagement Issue

This aligns with trends seen in PYMNTS research on what drives digital engagement across all activities, with healthcare and telehealth today down from its 2020-2021 spike and seeking continued application and growing usage as more people return to the doctor’s office.

Analyzing survey data from over 15,000 people in 11 countries, Benchmarking The World’s Digital Transformation: The ConnectedEconomy Index Q1 2022, a PYMNTS and Stripe collaboration, notes that “telehealth (an activity in which only 25% of consumers across all 11 countries are digitally engaged) and virtual therapy (21% of consumers) each have low digital engagement.”

Get the study: Benchmarking The World’s Digital Transformation: The ConnectedEconomy Index Q1 2022

A takeaway from the research is that for services like telehealth to continue growing in a post-pandemic environment, they will need to innovate beyond the basic video doctor visit.

Per The ConnectedEconomy Index Q1 2022, “The lack of compelling digital alternatives is a greater drag on the digital transformation of developed economies where existing physical solutions for many activities, including healthcare, are pretty good. To drive digital progress, more and better digital solutions that add value, not friction, are needed.”

Read more: Connected Healthcare Speaks up as Investments Pour Into Voice AI

Recognizing that telehealth is now a permanent part of the healthcare treatment mix and patient flow — so much so that medical schools are now adding telehealth curriculum — the engagement disconnect is phase two of telehealth’s new role in care delivery.

On Monday (May 2) The American Medical Association (AMA) noted in a blog that “One way to optimize telemedicine—and to better care for patients, streamline efficiencies and reduce professional burnout—is by using a team-based care model similar to the ones in place for face-to-face visits.”

The AMA said, “The gains and improvements the health system saw for patients and physicians using the team-based care model in a telehealth setting are very similar to the ones patients, physicians and other care givers experienced when the model was implemented in for in-office visits.”

This week the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) will announce the winner of its Telehealth Innovators Challenge of “organizations that are creating software-centric digital solutions to expand care to patients when and where they need it, helping to improve healthcare outcomes,” per a press release.

See also: Connected Healthcare Speaks up as Investments Pour Into Voice AI