While we publish new telehealth trends virtually every week, Rock Health consistently adds more color to these stories with its deep dives into funding and consumer preferences. Its latest research in collaboration with the Stanford Center of Digital Health is no exception.
Rock Health’s annual Digital Health Consumer Adoption Survey of 8,000+ US adults sheds more light on self-reported digital health behaviors, exploring three core insights with plenty of charts included for the visual learners:
INSIGHT #1: Future care models will increasingly integrate asynchronous modalities. (Chart 1)
- 51% of this year’s respondents have used live video telemedicine, making it the most used modality over audio-only or text-based care.
- Rock Health predicts that asynchronous non-video modalities will gain popularity because they enhance clinician efficiency and enable proactive continuous care
INSIGHT #2: Telehealth satisfaction remains high but is trending downward. (Chart 2)
- 43% reported greater satisfaction with live video calls compared to in-person care, down from 53% in last year’s survey.
- The authors attribute the decline to the changing expectations around telemedicine as an alternative to care, rather than as a needed replacement.
INSIGHT #3: High telemedicine adoption skews towards the young and wealthy. (Chart 3)
- Telemedicine adoption is highest among high income patients aged 18-44, underscoring gaps related to broadband access, device ownership, and digital literacy.
- To address these gaps, Rock Health suggests that innovators understand the population they’re building for, and what factors drive that group’s adoption.
Telemedicine’s Path Forward
The survey suggests that telemedicine is beginning to focus on personalized treatments that address the nuanced needs of individuals, serving as a tool for care rather than a business model. Rock Health holds an optimistic view about the future of telemedicine, and with more scalable and equitable solutions hitting the market every day, that’s a safe stance to take.
