Bringing health care home: what we can learn from telehealth trends in rural Michigan

Comparing 2019 to 2021 data provides new insights into patient perceptions and use of telemedicine

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Dec 16, 2021, 15:00 ET

LANSING, Mich., Dec. 16, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Connected Nation (CN), through the work of its state program, Connected Nation Michigan (CN Michigan), released today a follow-up to its groundbreaking 2020 study on telehealth use and perceptions. "Bringing Health Care Home: Telehealth Trends in Rural Michigan" provides key findings, new insights, and clear guidance on how to approach telehealth needs in rural America.

"When we released the key findings from our initial study in early 2020, we had no idea how timely it would become — just days later, the pandemic shut everything down," said Eric Frederick, Executive Director, CN Michigan. "We already knew that it was important to better understand how patients perceive telehealth and to examine what barriers there may be to accessing this tool. What we didn't know is that telehealth would quickly become critical for keeping people safe during the pandemic."

As of July 2021, telehealth usage had grown by an estimated 3,003% over pre-pandemic rates among Medicare users alone. To explore this issue, CN Michigan revisited the five rural Michigan counties profiled in the initial study — Dickinson, Gladwin, Osceola, Roscommon, and Sanilac.

"What we found was that rural residents in these areas are not only embracing telehealth at a growing rate, but many have no intention of returning to their pre-pandemic ways of almost exclusively in-person medical visits," said Chris McGovern, Director, Research Development, CN.

Other trends identified in the report include the following:

The share of households that went online to interact with health care providers rose significantly, from 34% in 2019 to 54% of households in 2021.
The most popular way to interact online with health care providers is via email, followed by interacting on the provider's website, in video meetings, and through texting.
In the five counties surveyed, telehealth usage as described above represents a savings of nearly $13.6 million in one year for 15-minute visits to general practitioners.
More than 2 out of 5 telehealth users (42%) started using telehealth tools less than 12 months ago. Three out of 10 (30%) said concerns about COVID-19 impacted that decision.

"Much of the data in this study are validated further by national trends we're seeing," said McGovern. "For example, we learned that a majority of households with children interact with health care providers online at a much higher rate than those without kids. That reflects recent data from Parks Associates."

CN Michigan made four recommendations for expanding telehealth:

Policymakers should support efforts to expand high-speed internet service to every household
Tracking access and usage of telehealth tools should be expanded
State and federal policymakers should make the current loosening of telehealth regulations permanent
Telehealth access and usage should continue to be monitored

This study was funded through a grant from the Michigan Health Endowment Fund.

SOURCE Connected Nation