The majority of Americans are willing to do video visits with their doctors for non-emergency care but prefer in-person visits, according to a new study in JAMA Network Open.
When hypothetical out-of-pocket costs are considered, the paper says, people still value in-person care more highly than video encounters. But the choice is fairly cost-sensitive.
The nationally representative survey, conducted by researchers from RAND Corp., asked the respondents about their preferences for telehealth vs. in-person care after the COVID-19 pandemic ends.
The survey panel consisted of 2,080 adults who were given internet-connected devices and were paid for completing the questionnaire. Participants in the weighted sample had an average age of 51, and slightly more than half were women. Minorities were also represented on the panel.
Two-thirds of the participants (66.5%) preferred to have at least some video visits in the future.
But break that down, and an interesting picture emerges: Given a choice between an in-person and a video visit for an encounter that could be handled either way:
53% preferred an in-person visit.
20.9% preferred a video visit.
26.2% didn't have a preference or didn't know.
Forty-five percent of the respondents reported having had one or more video visits since March 2020.
