Kaspersky Report Reveals Telehealth Hesitancy Among Patients

According to a Nov. 29 press release, new research from the Woburn, Mass.-based Kaspersky reveals that 91 percent of medical organizations have implemented telehealth capabilities—44 percent reporting use after the onset of the pandemic. The report entitled, “Telehealth take-up: the risks and opportunities” also reveals that 52 percent of respondents have experienced cases where patients refused telehealth services due to security concerns.

The release states that “Global events in healthcare in recent years have changed people’s perception of the industry. Medical organizations have adapted to the new conditions, and today, 56 percent of healthcare institutions are planning to increase their investment in telehealth and virtual care solutions. Kaspersky surveyed healthcare decision-makers to learn how the digital transformation of the industry is going and which problems they believe should be solved to create a world in which everyone can gain access to affordable, fast, and quality care.”

Further, “According to our research, 71 percent of global respondents believe telehealth services will add the most value to the healthcare sector within the next five years. Professionals note that remote medicine is practical and attractive in many ways, with advantages such as immediate reach, less disease transmission between patients and staff, and the ability to help more people in a smaller time frame.”

Key highlights from the report include:

• Forty-two percent of organizations agree that most of their patients are more interested in remote than in-person sessions because of the convenience
• Fifty-one percent of providers agree that the majority of their organization’s patients using remote formats are under the age of 50
• Fifty-one percent of respondents said that the most common service provided by organizations is synchronous telehealth, such as real-time communication with patients, including video call or chat
• Forty-one percent said the second most common service is remote patient monitoring via wearable devices
• Thirty-nine percent said the third most common service is asynchronous telehealth technology—meaning collecting and storing patients’ data in a secure cloud-based platform for further use by a treating professional
• Seventy-four percent of respondents experienced cases where patients have refused a video call with medical staff
• Fifty-two percent reported that patients declined telehealth services due to privacy or data concerns
• Thirty-three percent cited patients declining a telehealth service due to a general lack of trust toward telehealth
• Thirty-two percent cited patients declining a telehealth service due to unwillingness to appear on video
• Thirty percent reported patients declining a telehealth service due to the absence of proper equipment
• Eighty-one percent of healthcare providers state that clinicians in their organization have voiced concerns about patients’ data protection when conducting remote sessions
• Thirty-six percent reported they are “very confident” that their organization has the necessary security measures

In the report, Kaspersky’s experts share the following suggestions to help healthcare institutions establish a high level of cybersecurity readiness:

• Provide security awareness training for employees that have access to patients’ personal information
• The growing popularity of telehealth services requires extensive use of computing devices and IT in general
• Don’t overlook the protection of medical equipment based on embedded systems
• Use a firewall that serves as a barrier to external threats

The report states that “Kaspersky commissioned Arlington Research to undertake quantitative online research amongst sole or joint decision-makers working for frontline healthcare service provision (including telehealth) for new technology implementation, digital transformation. or developing strategy for new technology. Three hundred eighty-nine interviews were conducted globally with representation across North America, Europe, MEA, APAC, Latin America, and Russia and CIS. The survey was completed across 34 countries and seventy interviews were completed with enterprises with 1000+ employees with the remainder of interviews from organizations with 50-999 employees.”

The full report can be accessed here.