Today's telehealth experience

Hey Health Techies!

I spend a lot of my time thinking about healthcare products and their adoption — which is funny given where I started as a community pharmacist. At that time I thought about it very little. I was pretty bound to a proprietary pharmacy operating system as were the patients that we served. Sure if patients were unhappy they could transfer to a different chain pharmacy, but ultimately at the time, it was their in-store experience that differentiated their experience more than the technology surrounding it. Heck, when I left my retail pharmacy job, getting people to enroll in text notifications was the big push.

My how things have changed. Now health technology is marketed directly to patients, and seeing your provider virtually is as easy as FaceTiming a friend. Telehealth has become a staple in the healthcare technology landscape, and is one of the most approachable and convenient entry points for patients into this new world of care.

As we know, COVID no doubt catapulted telehealth’s prevalence in the US much faster than would have happened otherwise. And when I say catapulted…we’re talking stratospheric numbers. According to a McKinsey report, in April 2020 telehealth visits were happening at a rate 78 times higher than the rate just two months prior.

But what has happened since? Are telehealth rates still high? Are providers happy? Are patients?

📊 What the data shows

• A study conducted in 2023 showed that while patients are clearly able to see the benefits of telemedicine, they still prefer in-person visits in most cirumstances. Though a small sample size, in the sample surveyed 71% preferred in-person versus 29% that preferred televisits.

• Perhaps patients can sense the burden that offering this as an additional service can place on providers. According to McKinsey, at least in 2020 only 41% of providers felt that they had the right tools and process to be able to provide a seamless telehealth experience, pointing to the fact that perhaps patient experience is being impacted simply because it can still be a bit clunky for providers to deliver.

• Either way, telehealth has continued to cement itself as a standard in many areas of healthcare, and the level of service that patients expect is only climbing higher.

⭐️ Have we created a lovable patient experience?

• All signs point to….sort of?

• Much of what is lovable is in what patients do NOT have to experience when seeing a provider virtually — things like a commute, waiting in a cold office, and being exposed to communicable diseases.

• That is in no way a ringing endorsement of the telehealth products that have thrived over the past several years. Convenience is fantastic, but time will tell if it provides patients with long-lasting satisfaction and sufficient continuity of care.

• And while opening up virtual visit opportunities is convenient for patients, we must also address the clinician experience as we move forward. It would be nice if a similar level of convenience for the patient could begin to be realized on the clinical side as well. Which brings me to my final topic…

📊 Job opportunities for clinicians

• I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk about telehealth as a job opportunity for clinicians.

• For those interested in staying in traditional clinical settings, adopting cutting edge telehealth experiences as an offering to patients will continue to prove important to stay relevant in certain specialties where many diagnoses can be made virtually (ie. primary care, mental health). Discerning patients will continue to expect this as an option for them to reach a provider at the practice.

• Opportunities are also bountiful for clinicians interested working for companies that solely offer telehealth services. Telehealth clinicians often have a great work-life balance, are able to work from home and are able to provide more input into the direction of the product at many of these small, agile startups — leading to a better product and greater job satisfaction.

• For those looking for non-clinical roles, who better for these companies to hire than someone with healthcare background who can give input on clinical workflows, recommend process improvements, and empathize with the clinician experience?

Though I don’t think we’re where we probably hoped we’d be after the telehealth boom in 2020, I have confidence that we will get there, and want to see the next great leaps be in ease of use for clinicians rather than a necessary burden.

📰 Weekly Wrap-up

• In news that is likely no surprise to clinicians it’s reported that among nurses experiencing burnout, nearly one-third cite their EHR as a contributing factor

• Pfizer becomes the next big pharma company to launch a direct-to-consumer concept

👀 Don’t miss these open roles

• Provider Success Manager - Hims and Hers

• Clinical Programs Manager, Inpatient - Cohere Health

• Medical Expert, Pregnancy - Carrot Health

• and more!

Until next time,

Lauren