3 Of 5 Docs Would See Patients Over Video
By Katie Wike, contributing writer
According to a recent survey conducted by American Well and Quantia MD, more than half of physicians are willing to meet with patients via video.
Nearly 60 percent of physicians are willing to conduct video visits with their patients according to a survey of over 2,000 primary care doctors. Twelve percent of physicians indicated they would be unwilling to see a patient over video, while 31 percent remained uncertain.
The survey, conducted by American Well and Quantia MD, also found the most common reason a provider would use video visits was work-life balance. This was followed by the ability to earn more and improve patient outcomes.
“There's a sea change going on within the physician community,” said Roy Schoenberg, MD, CEO of American Well in a press release. “Doctors see value in virtual visits for their patients and also in managing their own work-life balance. We've seen weekly physician inquiries about practicing online triple in less than six months.”
mHealth News reports 90 percent of physicians view video appointments as a platform for delivering concierge services to fee-paying patients. Other uses listed were:
- medication management (86 percent)
- minor urgent care (85 percent)
- birth control counseling (83 percent)
- home healthcare (82 percent)
- chronic condition management (80 percent)
Doctors believe this type of communication was appropriate for many applications. Eighty-six percent believe video visits are appropriate for medication management and prescription renewals while 80 percent saw video visits as appropriate for chronic condition management. Seventy percent said it was appropriate for behavioral health.
Specialty care was also considered. The top applications for specialized video visits included: dermatology, psychiatry, infectious disease, pain management, neurology and cardiology.
Video consultations also beat out other forms of telemedicine when it comes to accuracy. Seventy percent of physicians said video visits offer the most accurate diagnosis; 25 percent selected phone consults, while 5 percent chose e-mail and 1 percent selected text messaging.