The conventional wisdom
Physicians and patients alike are anxious to return to “normal”—and for many that means a return to in-person care. Many physicians were willing to adopt telehealth during the pandemic because it was the only option when nationwide lockdowns limited in-person visits. But now that hospitals and clinics are open, most physicians are returning to their pre-pandemic routines where in-person care is the default. Similarly, patients—even those who tried and enjoyed telehealth during the pandemic—assume that in-person visits are the standard modality. Some patients are choosing, and sometimes even asking for, in-person visits in place of continued telehealth visits.
In-person care isn’t simply the default mode of care for some physicians. They actually prefer it because of the technical challenges surrounding telehealth. The rapid adoption of telehealth at the onset of the pandemic meant that many health care organizations were adopting telehealth platforms rapidly and adjusting as they went. As a result, physicians experienced telehealth (often for the first time) with many technical issues including faulty audio and video connection, lack of integration with the EHR, and inefficient workflows and team communication. And all of those challenges come on top of ongoing concern about the future of telehealth reimbursement. Because of these barriers, leaders remain hesitant to invest in and encourage long-term adoption of telehealth, which would lead to a decrease in utilization.
And many physicians don’t consider declining telehealth utilization to be a problem. To them, telehealth represented a substitute for in-person care during the pandemic. These physicians feel that telehealth didn’t substantially improve the care model or add additional benefits to the patient or physician experience. The question on many of the minds of leaders and physicians is: “Why make the change to telehealth when it’s not significantly better than the old method?”
