Use of Telemedicine among Office-Based Physicians, 2021

Excerpt

Prior to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, adoption of telemedicine was slow and its usage was rare [1]. However, during the pandemic, usage of telemedicine increased dramatically with physicians using a number of telemedicine tools to deliver health services, while limiting patients’ exposure to the virus [2]. Wide use of telemedicine may impact various aspects of health care delivery such as quality, cost, and access to care. Thus, a detailed understanding about the usage of telemedicine is vital to develop better policies associated with health care delivery. In this data brief, we document rates of office-based physicians’ use of telemedicine, the types of telemedicine tools used, the characteristics of physicians using telemedicine, and physicians’ overall satisfaction with telemedicine. Additionally, we report the percent of physicians who plan to continue using telemedicine beyond the pandemic and usage rates by physicians’ EHR technology.