Survey: Almost 70% of Medicare Patients Comfortable Conducting Annual Wellness Visits by Telehealth

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Mar 11, 2024, 08:07 ET

Patients who prefer telehealth for annual wellness visits cite convenience, quicker access and decreased sick exposure as driving factors, KeyCare survey finds

CHICAGO, March 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Among Medicare enrollees who previously have had a telehealth visit, a startling 69% report that they would be comfortable doing annual wellness visits (AWVs) via telehealth from home, according to the results of a consumer survey by KeyCare, the nation's first Epic-based virtual care company.

The survey found that the most-often cited benefits of telehealth annual wellness visits include: convenience in terms of transportation and time (39.25%), elimination of the need to sit in an office with sick people (30.75%), lower expenses (23.25%), and the ability to schedule a visit sooner (20%).

The survey also revealed that a majority (75%) of Medicare patients would feel comfortable conducting their annual wellness visits with a provider who is not their regular primary care physician - if their medical records could be shared across providers.

"The results of this survey confirm that health systems have a tremendous opportunity to work with telehealth partners to deliver annual wellness visits to Medicare patients," said Lyle Berkowitz, MD, CEO of KeyCare. "A formal annual wellness visit provides great value for Medicare patients by ensuring their medical record is up to date, while identifying social determinant of health issues and closing care gaps. And when health systems share this type of routine work with a virtual partner working on an interoperable medical record system, it should help increase the percentage of patients getting AWVs, while decreasing the strain on office-based providers and giving them time to focus on their more complex patients."

The survey of 400 Medicare patients who have previously engaged in telehealth visits was conducted in February 2024 on behalf of KeyCare.

About KeyCare
KeyCare offers health systems access to a network of independent virtual care providers working on KeyCare's Epic-based EMR and telehealth platform. This allows KeyCare to increase access for health system patients while decreasing the burden for their providers. Health systems can start with nationwide virtual on-demand care coverage (24x7, 50-state coverage), and then may add other virtual health services based on their virtual care initiatives. To learn more about KeyCare, visit www.keycare.org.

Media Contact KeyCare

Grace Vinton

203-561-8935

[email protected]

SOURCE KeyCare