21% of Consumers Turn to Remote Urgent Care

A surge in remote medical visits and health-tracking tools is reshaping how Americans navigate the healthcare system, yet the most striking finding in new research is not about telehealth adoption. It is the widening gap between how smoothly consumers receive care and how difficult it remains for many to pay for it.

A PYMNTS Intelligence report, “Three in 10 Gen Zers and Millennials Use Telehealth. But Paying the Doctor Is Full of Friction,” offers a broad look at how consumers of all ages engage with healthcare providers.

While younger adults lean more heavily on digital care, the data paints a broader picture of uneven progress as the industry shifts toward remote visits, online portals and app-based monitoring.

The survey of 2,021 U.S. consumers conducted in April finds strong digital engagement across cohorts, solid demand for virtual appointments and widespread use of health-monitoring tools. It also shows significant frustrations in the payment process, with barriers that cut across demographic groups. These frictions include unclear statements, insurance hurdles and limited digital payment options.

Remote treatment grows. Just over 1 in 5 consumers reported that their most recent healthcare visit occurred through telehealth, and the rates exceeded 30% for several younger cohorts. Yet the shift goes well beyond age. Remote visits accounted for 52% of all mental health appointments and appeared in unexpected categories such as urgent care at 21% and even the emergency room at 15%. These patterns show that consumers have become comfortable with virtual touchpoints for a broad range of services.

Payment challenges are common. Across the full sample, 44% of consumers encountered at least one issue when paying for their most recent healthcare service. Problems included unexpected charges, unclear bills, insurance coverage confusion and limited digital payment choices. Emergency room visits generated the most friction at 34%, followed by mental health services at 27%. As Medicare simplifies billing for older adults, younger groups who rely on private insurance shoulder most of the system’s complexity.

Digital tools move into the mainstream. More than 6 in 10 consumers used at least one digital tool to manage their healthcare over the past year. Provider portals lead at 36%, and online scheduling tools reach 25%. Although adoption is strongest among younger cohorts, usage remains surprisingly high among older patients, with 62% of baby boomers engaging with some form of digital tool. Many consumers also share health-tracking data with their doctors, reinforcing the role of digital information in routine care.

Beyond these broad findings, the report highlights several additional shifts that reflect a healthcare system increasingly shaped by digital expectations. Consumers across age groups sought healthcare at similar rates over the prior three months, but the type of care diverged.

Baby boomers visited specialists more frequently, while younger adults visited urgent care at higher rates, a trend that may reflect gaps in insurance coverage for younger Americans. Mental-health usage was notably higher among younger cohorts as well.

Remote channels also reached far into categories once thought immune to digital substitution, such as primary care, where 14% of recent visits occurred virtually. Even among users of health-monitoring apps and devices, more than half shared their data with providers, suggesting that digital information flows are becoming routine rather than experimental.

As healthcare delivery continues its steady digital expansion, the report makes clear that the next frontier is payment. Consumers are increasingly comfortable receiving care online, booking appointments through web portals and sharing data from wearable devices. What they still lack is a simple and predictable way to pay for that care. Until those gaps close, the convenience of digital healthcare will remain only partially realized.