First-of-Its-Kind Survey from Teladoc Projects Consumer Adoption of Telehealth to Nearly Double by 2018
Findings mark the industry’s first consumer telehealth survey of hospitals and health systems
PURCHASE, NY, June 16, 2017 – Teladoc, Inc. (NYSE: TDOC), the nation’s first and largest telehealth platform, announced today results from its industry-first hospital and health systems consumer telehealth survey. Including findings around prioritization of and emphasis on telehealth as a strategic priority, data from the benchmark survey suggested 89 percent of hospitals and health systems that have a consumer telehealth program in place rank telehealth as a top priority, among competing business interests. Further, the survey reveals that respondents see telehealth as a priority initiative that will help leverage and support overall organizational strategic goals, among which the majority of respondents cited as patient access and convenience, along with increased efficiencies in care delivery.
The survey’s third-party data collection was conducted in December 2016 to better understand the consumer telehealth landscape from the perspective of 179 U.S. hospital and health system executives and stakeholders, and to provide an industry-standard tool for insights and best practices across programming and implementation. Overall, the data showed that 76 percent of hospitals have implemented or intend to implement consumer telehealth by December 2018. Further, 69 percent of the organizations who have telehealth plan to expand their capabilities and offerings, citing the general public as the top priority patient population for achieving continued growth and reach across consumer telehealth.
“Teladoc recognized there was an evolving market, with expanding interest within the provider market and significant investments from hospital systems. Yet, this was coupled with limited benchmark data and overall client uncertainty,” said Alan Roga MD, President, Provider Market, Teladoc. “As the market leader in telehealth, we developed for our customers the first consumer-specific telehealth survey, finding that the most successful programs identified key value drivers, and then leveraged telehealth as a method to help execute that strategy and maximize market positioning.”
When it comes to the focus area for telehealth, the need for expanded primary care and emergency medicine is high, as indicated by results that 61 percent of survey respondents’ telehealth programs currently offer these services. As hospitals today routinely face a high volume of patients that may not require in-patient-access to address their conditions, hospital leaders are realizing that they can gain an advantage in the market by offering medical visits via a virtual platform. When it comes to the features of a telehealth system, hospitals benefit from those that provide bi-directional exchange of clinical data with EHR systems, and that can “tier” provider networks to incorporate a health system’s own physicians as well as those of the telehealth service.
Respondents represent for-profit and non-profit organizations from both single-state and multi-state acute care, academic and community hospital systems. Respondent input was divided into three categories: those who have consumer telehealth programs in place, those who will have a program in the next 24 months, and those who do not plan to implement a program in the next 24 months. From there, questioning criteria pertained to consumer telehealth goals and priorities, length of program and utilization, populations served, staffing structure, marketing budget and promotion, and more.
“Insights showed that our respondents’ main goals are increasing access, care coordination and managing at-risk populations – all initiatives that align with Teladoc’s key value drivers,” said Roga. “As hospitals identify goals and tactics to redefine the consumer experience and value-based healthcare, adopting telehealth is a provenly effective strategy toward achieving competitive market positioning, all while providing high-quality and cost-effective care.”
For additional information and access to the full survey results, please visit here.
About TeladocTeladoc, Inc. (NYSE:TDOC), is the nation’s first and largest telehealth platform. Recognized by MIT Technology Review as one of the “50 Smartest Companies,” Teladoc is forging a new healthcare experience with an innovative portfolio of virtual care solutions. Currently, Teladoc serves some 7,500 clients – from payers to providers to employers – and more than 20 million members who connect within minutes to Teladoc’s network of more than 3,000 board-certified, state-licensed physicians and therapists, 24/7. Teladoc’s services and solutions marry a highly engaging consumer experience with the latest in data & analytics, and devices & wearables. The more than 2.5 million medical consults have been provided for general medical, dermatology, counseling, psychiatry, sexual health, and tobacco cessation.
About the SurveyThe 2016 Hospital & Health Systems Benchmark Survey: Consumer Telehealth was conducted by Teladoc in partnership with Becker’s Healthcare. Fielded in December 2016, the survey findings represent responses from 179 health care executives and other key consumer telehealth stakeholders from for-profit and non-profit organizations representing acute care, academic and community hospitals in both single-state and multi-state systems.
Media:Maura Siefring215-837-8450maura.siefring@gcihealth.com