Given the dramatic expansion of virtual care during the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s important that all providers validate the advantages — and understand the challenges — of delivering healthcare via video consultation.

Patients report a high level of satisfaction with virtual care

Patients value the potential time and cost savings, overall convenience, and quality of communication. Many patients also appreciate that virtual care can be more patient-centered. It’s care that’s respectful of, and responsive to, individual patient preferences, needs and values. Plus, they value the advantage of not being exposed to others during visits to the doctor's office.

Physicians express concern about the digital divide

While many physicians share the same appreciation for virtual care, there are concerns that some people in the U.S. don’t have access to the technologies that make virtual care possible. The digital divide separates people based on socioeconomic status, technology skills and devices, internet availability, and lack of information about available virtual care options.

A recent study in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine assessed primary care physician (PCP) opinions on their virtual care experiences. Interviews with a small group of 15 doctors led to some interesting insights, including these advantages:

1. Overall, virtual care improves access to care, facilitates earlier care, and reduces missed visits.
2. Many types of visits are appropriate for virtual care, including counseling and discussion, reviewing lab results, starting a medication for a chronic condition, and medication adjustment for chronic conditions such as diabetes and hypertension.
3. Virtual care visits offer doctors a window into the daily lives of their patients, including the physical setting and social milieu. This information helps doctors get to know their patients in their family home environment, which in turn fosters trust and satisfaction in the doctor-patient relationship.
4. Virtual visits can be shorter and more efficient.
5. Doctors find it easier to refuse unwarranted or inappropriate patient requests in a virtual consultation, compared to the in-person office experience.

The study also raised these challenges:

1. Virtual care may not improve access for some patients, such as those who have trouble using technology.
2. Visits requiring a physical exam are not appropriate for virtual care.
3. Doctors expressed concern that the lack of physical touch in virtual visits may detract from the usual rituals of in-person care, and may impact the doctor-patient relationship.
4. Doctors also expressed concern that shorter virtual care visits may hinder patient communication and impact the doctor-patient relationship.

At HealthTap, we continue to pay close attention to the user experiences we design and the impact the service will have on patients and doctors. We eagerly anticipate continued improvements and advancements of virtual care, and we are working relentlessly to find creative, thoughtful ways to manage its challenges.