Telehealth, once hailed for its ability to overcome socioeconomic and geographic barriers and seen as a crucial tool during the pandemic, is now a focal point in U.S. healthcare delivery. But is it meeting patient expectations? According to the J.D. Power 2024 U.S. Telehealth Satisfaction Study, the results are mixed. While telehealth usage has grown and many patients report positive experiences, not all interactions have been ideal. Satisfaction varies significantly across providers, and questions persist about its effectiveness for certain types of care.
“The telehealth marketplace has grown rapidly and although its usage has been normalized in recent years, we’re still in a growth phase where individuals can have vastly different experiences based on the providers they use, their medical conditions and even things like the quality of internet and phone connections where they live,” said Christopher Lis, managing director of global healthcare intelligence at J.D. Power. “Most consumers agree that telehealth is tough to beat when it comes to convenience and accessing care quickly, but it is not the ideal channel for all healthcare encounters. The wide variation in patient experience is something telehealth providers, insurers and public health officials will want to monitor closely.”
Following are some key findings of the 2024 study:
- Overall satisfaction varies widely: Overall patient satisfaction with direct-to-consumer telehealth providers is 730 (on a 1,000-point scale), which is 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.
- Convenience is king, but barriers persist: 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%). The 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.
- Biggest gaps 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 across socioeconomic and demographic groups: Overall satisfaction with telehealth providers is highest among patients covered by Medicaid, those living in urban environments and those in Gen Y1 and Gen Z. Satisfaction is lowest among patients covered by Medicare and private insurance, those living in suburban environments, and those in the Boomer and older generations.
Study Rankings
MyTelemedicine ranks highest in telehealth satisfaction among direct-to-consumer brands, with a score of 747. Doctor On Demand(743) and Teladoc Health(743) each rank second in a tie.
Humana ranks highest among payers of health plan-provided telehealth services, with a score of 747. Florida Blue (734) ranks second and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas (733) ranks third.
The U.S. Telehealth Satisfaction Study, now in its fifth year, measures customer satisfaction with telehealth service experience based on seven factors (in order of importance): level of trust; visit with provider met my needs; people; digital channels; ease of receiving care; scheduling of appointment; and helping to save me time or money. The study is based on responses of 4,070 healthcare customers who used a telehealth service within the past 12 months. It was fielded from September 2023 through July 2024.
See the rank chart for each segment at the website here.
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1 J.D. Power defines generational groups as Pre-Boomers (born before 1946); Boomers (1946-1964); Gen X (1965-1976); Gen Y (1977-1994); and Gen Z (1995-2006).
