Physician requirements for adoption of telehealth following the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic
Abstract It took the advent of SARS-CoV-2, a “black swan event”, to widely introduce telehealth, remote care, and virtual house calls. Prior to the epidemic (2019), the American Medical Association (AMA) conducted a routine study to compare physicians’ adoption of emerging technologies to a similar...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2021-02-01
|
| Series: | npj Digital Medicine |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-021-00390-y |
| _version_ | 1797641776763240448 |
|---|---|
| author | Michael Hodgkins Meg Barron Shireesha Jevaji Stacy Lloyd |
| author_facet | Michael Hodgkins Meg Barron Shireesha Jevaji Stacy Lloyd |
| author_sort | Michael Hodgkins |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract It took the advent of SARS-CoV-2, a “black swan event”, to widely introduce telehealth, remote care, and virtual house calls. Prior to the epidemic (2019), the American Medical Association (AMA) conducted a routine study to compare physicians’ adoption of emerging technologies to a similar survey in 2016. Most notable was a doubling in the adoption of telehealth/virtual technology to 28% and increases in the use of remote monitoring and management for improved care (13–22%). These results may now seem insignificant when compared to the unprecedented surge in telehealth visits because of SARS-CoV-2. Even as this surge levels off and begins to decline, many observers believe we will continue to see a persistent increase in the use of virtual visits compared to face-to-face care. The requirements for adoption communicated by physicians in both the 2016 and 2019 surveys are now more relevant than ever: Is remote care as effective as in-person care and how best to determine when to use these modalities? How do I safeguard my patients and my practice from liability and privacy concerns? How do I optimize using these technologies in my practice and, especially integration with my EHR and workflows to improve efficiency? And how will a mix of virtual and in-person visits affect practice revenue and sustainability? Consumers have also expressed concerns about payment for virtual visits as well as privacy and quality of care. If telehealth and remote care are here to stay, continuing to track their impact during the current public health emergency is critically important to address so that policymakers and insurers will take necessary steps to ensure that the “new normal” will reflect a health care delivery model that can provide comparable or improved results today and into the future. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T13:50:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c7ccc177f7d24332a96db6d378671e37 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2398-6352 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T13:50:31Z |
| publishDate | 2021-02-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | npj Digital Medicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-c7ccc177f7d24332a96db6d378671e372023-11-02T09:19:55ZengNature Portfolionpj Digital Medicine2398-63522021-02-01411310.1038/s41746-021-00390-yPhysician requirements for adoption of telehealth following the SARS-CoV-2 pandemicMichael Hodgkins0Meg Barron1Shireesha Jevaji2Stacy Lloyd3American Medical AssociationAmerican Medical AssociationAmerican Medical AssociationAmerican Medical AssociationAbstract It took the advent of SARS-CoV-2, a “black swan event”, to widely introduce telehealth, remote care, and virtual house calls. Prior to the epidemic (2019), the American Medical Association (AMA) conducted a routine study to compare physicians’ adoption of emerging technologies to a similar survey in 2016. Most notable was a doubling in the adoption of telehealth/virtual technology to 28% and increases in the use of remote monitoring and management for improved care (13–22%). These results may now seem insignificant when compared to the unprecedented surge in telehealth visits because of SARS-CoV-2. Even as this surge levels off and begins to decline, many observers believe we will continue to see a persistent increase in the use of virtual visits compared to face-to-face care. The requirements for adoption communicated by physicians in both the 2016 and 2019 surveys are now more relevant than ever: Is remote care as effective as in-person care and how best to determine when to use these modalities? How do I safeguard my patients and my practice from liability and privacy concerns? How do I optimize using these technologies in my practice and, especially integration with my EHR and workflows to improve efficiency? And how will a mix of virtual and in-person visits affect practice revenue and sustainability? Consumers have also expressed concerns about payment for virtual visits as well as privacy and quality of care. If telehealth and remote care are here to stay, continuing to track their impact during the current public health emergency is critically important to address so that policymakers and insurers will take necessary steps to ensure that the “new normal” will reflect a health care delivery model that can provide comparable or improved results today and into the future.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-021-00390-y |
| spellingShingle | Michael Hodgkins Meg Barron Shireesha Jevaji Stacy Lloyd Physician requirements for adoption of telehealth following the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic npj Digital Medicine |
| title | Physician requirements for adoption of telehealth following the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic |
| title_full | Physician requirements for adoption of telehealth following the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic |
| title_fullStr | Physician requirements for adoption of telehealth following the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic |
| title_full_unstemmed | Physician requirements for adoption of telehealth following the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic |
| title_short | Physician requirements for adoption of telehealth following the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic |
| title_sort | physician requirements for adoption of telehealth following the sars cov 2 pandemic |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-021-00390-y |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT michaelhodgkins physicianrequirementsforadoptionoftelehealthfollowingthesarscov2pandemic AT megbarron physicianrequirementsforadoptionoftelehealthfollowingthesarscov2pandemic AT shireeshajevaji physicianrequirementsforadoptionoftelehealthfollowingthesarscov2pandemic AT stacylloyd physicianrequirementsforadoptionoftelehealthfollowingthesarscov2pandemic |