Doctors and patients list pros and cons of telehealth

In a new survey by Buzzback, over 1500 patients and health care providers based in the UK and the US gave their views on the advantages and disadvantages of telehealth. 

The frequent or exclusive use of telemedicine by healthcare providers is now at almost 64% in the US – up from 20 – 30% pre-Covid.

Buzzback found that over 70% of practitioners and patients are satisfied with telehealth appointments. Healthcare professionals said they are especially helpful for answering patients’ questions and offering them greater time efficiency. 

Over the next 3 years, more than half of healthcare providers say that they will use it often, and patients also indicated that more will use it to access medical care. 

However, there are frustrations for both the medical practitioners and patients - 57% of medical practitioners are less satisfied about diagnosing patients this way, due to the inability of a telehealth platform to monitor vital signs, as well as the lack of human connection. Additionally patients have frustrations with the technology itself. 

Other key findings include: 
 * The profile of those using telehealth tended to be younger and taking regular prescriptions
 * Telemedicine is being used for all kinds of appointments, both for ongoing issues and for new symptoms and initial visits
 * Zoom and Teams are the most used platforms, however specialised channels are emerging  such as Doxy Me in the US 

Carol Fitzgerald, Founder and CEO at Buzzback US, said: “Telemedicine is becoming increasingly predominant in the healthcare landscape. Although some aspects need improvement, satisfaction is already high and major healthcare and tech players are taking interest in this growing industry, for example Amazon Care. 

"In order to improve the experiences of both patients and healthcare practitioners, it’s important to keep looking at what the next steps should be for this growing market”.