4 Takeaways from Consumer Survey on Telehealth Satisfaction

Direct-to-consumer telehealth providers rank higher with patients than payer-provided telehealth offerings, according to a new J.D. Power survey. Experiences vary considerably, however, among telehealth providers, and concerns remain over the effectiveness of telehealth for different types of care.

Overall patient satisfaction with direct-to-consumer telehealth providers came in at 730 on a 1,000-point scale, down one point from 2023. Overall patient satisfaction with payer-provided telehealth offerings is 708, up 18 points from a year ago. This wide variation between the two categories of providers and within individual providers profiled in the study suggests that patients are experiencing significant variability in their perceived quality of care and ease of accessing care, the report explains.

Other findings from the survey include:

• Convenience is king. The top reasons patients cite for using telehealth services are convenience (65%); ability to receive care quickly (46%); and having a condition that is covered by a telehealth visit (30%).
• Barriers persist. Top barriers making the telehealth experience difficult are internet/cellular connectivity difficulties (25%); limited services provided (25%); and data security concerns with personal/medical information (15%). Overall, 65% of telehealth patients experienced at least one barrier during their telehealth visit.
• Large gaps exist in experience. Among specific services in which patients indicate that they would prefer to use telehealth, reviewing medication options and chronic care follow-up are the two areas in which the gap in customer experience is largest. Nearly three-fourths (74%) of those having an easy experience with a medication review said they would use telehealth again, while only 58% who had a difficult experience said they would use it again. When following up on a chronic condition, 44% of patients who had an easy experience said they would use it again, while only 28% of those who had a difficult experience said they would use it again.
• Experience varies by age and income. Overall satisfaction with telehealth providers is highest among patients covered by Medicaid, those living in urban environments and those in Gen Y and Gen Z. Satisfaction is lowest among patients covered by Medicare and private insurance, those living in suburban environments, baby boomers and older generations.