Although the use of telehealth skyrocketed during the pandemic, it has more recently declined as the option to go back to in-person appointments is back in the cards. A February 2022 report from healthcare analytics company Trilliant Health suggests telehealth may just be a placeholder for in-person visits.
Five things to know:
- In 2020, around 38 million Americans completed 114 million telehealth visits. However, in 2021, 30 million Americans generated 106 million visits, indicating a tapering of usage.
- The relationship between telehealth and in-person visits is inverse, with a drop in in-person visits causing a spike in telehealth visits. However, telehealth isn't making up for all the lost in-person visits.
- Patients are seeking hybrid care that has both in-person as well as virtual elements.
- Most telehealth patients only have a few visits, with 46 percent of patients using it only once and 34 percent having between one and four virtual visits between 2020 and 2021.
- Nearly two years into the pandemic, only a quarter of Americans have used telehealth services. The report concludes that telehealth supply far outweighs the current consumer demand.