While consumers and physicians agree that virtual healthcare holds great promise for transforming care delivery, physicians still remain reluctant to embrace the technologies, according to a new Deloitte Center for Health Solutions survey.
Physicians are specifically worried about reimbursement, privacy and other issues, according to the research, which included surveys of both consumers and providers.
The surveys found that a majority of consumers (64 percent) and physicians (66 percent) cited improved patient access as the top benefit of virtual care. About half of physicians surveyed agreed that virtual care supports the goals of patient-centricity, including improved patient satisfaction (52 percent agree) and staying connected with patients and their caregivers (45 percent agree).
However, physicians’ enthusiasm wanes when it comes to using virtual care in their practices today. While 57 percent of consumers favor video-based visits, only 14 percent of physicians surveyed have the capability today, and just 18 percent of the remainder plan to add this capability.
Lack of reimbursement, along with complex licensing requirements and high cost technologies are among the key causes of physician reluctance, the research found. However, changing reimbursement models may be a catalyst for virtual care adoption. The physician survey also found that clinicians worry about medical errors (36 percent) and data security and privacy (33 percent) associated with virtual care.
One step in the right direction could be a very recent proposed rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), which included recommended changes to how physicians would be reimbursed for telehealth services. The CMS proposal has so far brought a mix of enthusiasm and concerns from groups advocating for greater usage of telehealth.
“Changes in health care reimbursement models, combined with growing consumer demand, are driving health systems to embrace virtual care, but they are struggling to get physicians on board,”. Ken Abrams, M.D., managing director, Deloitte Consulting LLP, said in a statement. “However, getting buy-in from physicians may not be as difficult as organizations might expect: most physicians who have tried the technologies associated with virtual care feel good about them. It’s important to help physicians understand how virtual care improves care quality and lessens patient or caregiver burden.”
