A new study by researchers at RAND analyzed whether consumers utilizing telehealth, a service that provides the advice of physicians via telephone, were doing so to replace going to the doctor personally.
It found that only 12% of calls were used as a substitute for an in-person visit, and that people were mostly using the service in addition to seeking help at the ER or their doctor’s office. The convenience of just picking up the phone for consultation on ailments that would otherwise not have prompted a trip to the doctor is raising healthcare spending through a program that is supposed to decrease expenses.
To solve this problem, the researchers proposed increasing patient cost-sharing for telehealth sessions and reaching out to frequent ER visitors to convince them to make the switch to telehealth.
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