Most Americans plans to use telehealth after the pandemic, according to a survey conducted by the Harris Poll. While most respondents were comfortable using virtual visits, they were also keen on keeping in-person visits with their doctor.

by Elise Reuter

“As many people sought out virtual visits for the first time during the Covid-19 pandemic, most plan to continue to use them in the future. Roughly 65% of people plan to continue to use telehealth after the pandemic ends, according to a survey recently conducted by The Harris Poll.

“In general, people over age 65 were more likely to favor in-person visits over telehealth, according to the survey of 2028 adults conducted between December 18 and 20.

“Early in the pandemic, telehealth visits soared as in-person visits were restricted to conserve resources. But many returned to in-person care over the summer, though telehealth use was still up significantly from before the pandemic.

“Roughly 83% of all survey respondents said they had ever used telehealth. The majority across all age groups said they were comfortable with virtual visits, especially those that had already used telehealth. But a majority of respondents also indicated that they still wanted to keep in-person appointments with their primary care physician.

“If given the option between a telehealth visit or an in-person visit, relatively few respondents (15%) said they would opt for telehealth services alone.”

Click here to read this article at MedCity News in its entirety.