Telehealth’s trajectory: Staying power, but is there growth?

While nobody expects telehealth to vanish in the post-pandemic landscape, predicting its growth potential as life continues to revert from “new normal” to old normal can be challenging.

To help answer that question, it’s helpful to focus on what customers want.

An Aug. 20, 2024, MGMA Stat poll found that less than half (45%) of medical group leaders report that patient demand for telehealth this year has stayed the same (26%) or increased (19%), while 55% noted a decrease in patient demand. The poll had 359 applicable responses.

Medical group leaders seeing an uptick in patient demand have responded by:

• Shifting to an EHR with integrated telehealth and patient portal functionality
• Adding digital check-in questionnaires for telehealth
• Updating scheduling templates for shifts in virtual visits
• Hiring additional support staff (e.g., scheduler, medical assistant or nurse) to accommodate volume growth
• Revisiting key performance indicators (KPIs) and productivity measures specific to telehealth.

However, some practice leaders who expanded their telehealth platforms earlier during the pandemic reported less effort to update workflows and scale as their patient demand grew. “The technology we use helps to manage it,” one practice leader told MGMA.

For the 26% of respondents who reported no change in patient demand this year, most told MGMA that any shifts are typically driven by expected increases in sick visits, especially around cold and flu season. Several noted that demand has “leveled off” from the height of the pandemic, and there’s a degree of predictability:

• For some specialties, “patients appreciate being treated at home whenever possible,” as one respondent told MGMA.
• For seniors and many pediatric practice clients, there’s often a preference to be seen in person.

As for the majority of respondents who noted a decrease in patient demand this year, most qualified the change as “minimal” and having no major impact of workflows and staffing, with many workers who previously aided with virtual visits shifting back to more pre-registration duties for in-person care.

While a corresponding uptick of in-person visits has created a need for more physical space in clinics and more supplies, that increase in outpatient visits has also led to easier ability to get diagnostic testing done on site, boosting revenue in the process.

The big picture on telehealth

Industry observers shouldn’t be blamed for raising questions about where telehealth is headed beyond 2024, as the first half of the year saw major players such as Walmart and Optum abandon virtual care offerings.

This latest poll’s findings echo federal data from the National Health Statistics Report released in June, which found about 30.1% of adults used telehealth in 2022, down from 37% the previous year. While nearly all demographic groups studied in the report noted a decline year over year, researchers noted that people in urban areas, women and adults with college degrees were among those most likely to use telehealth.

Many of the policies that expanded telehealth utilization during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) are set to expire at the end of 2024, with the MGMA Government Affairs team pushing for congressional action, specifically to:

• Remove geographic and originating site restrictions;
• Allow permanent coverage of audio-only services; and
• Reimburse telehealth visits at an appropriate care rate.

What’s going to change without action?

While CMS has proposed extending some telehealth policies in the recently proposed 2025 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS), congressional action is needed before the end of 2024 to keep in place significant current policies such as originating site and geographic flexibilities.

One practice leader in this week’s poll shared with MGMA that their contingency plan, should these policies not be extended, would include confirming patient state of residence at the time of visit and obtaining out-of-state licenses for practitioners.

According to James Haynes, JD, associate director of MGMA Government Affairs, a bill to extend all the major telehealth policies another two years was approved out of the House Ways and Means Committee and has broad support. “I foresee this being, hopefully, a priority of Congress again after the election,” he noted.

Learn more

• Hear more about these topics and much more in the MGMA member-exclusive webinar, “2024 Washington Policy Mid-Year Update,” on demand.
• MGMA members enjoy exclusive access to MGMA Government Affairs’ analysis of the 2025 Medicare PFS proposed rule.

Recent telehealth innovations

• Multiple direct-to-consumer companies have moved into the space of prescribing medical devices via telehealth to boost access to specialty care.
• Creating standalone video visit kiosks within urgent care centers to address low-acuity issues helped Kentucky’s Baptist Health cut wait times down to six minutes, as reported by Healthcare IT News.

Have a telehealth success story to share? We’d love to help tell it — email connection@mgma.com.

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