Patients Want Two “T”s From Providers: Telehealth and Texting

By Clive Riddle, May 20, 2021

Results from two surveys were released this week on what U.S. patients want in their provider communications: telehealth and texting.

Harris Poll, on behalf of NextGen Healthcare, found that 53 percent "say the pandemic changed how they want to communicate with their doctor. Notably, nearly half (48 percent) indicate they would switch to a different healthcare provider if their current provider did not offer telehealth appointments." A HIMSS survey sponsored by SR Health found that “patients want more regular and immediate interactions with providers and to be more engaged in their overall healthcare and wellbeing. Nothing is more effective for that kind of communication than text. Ideally, today, every healthcare interaction should begin with a text message.”

The Harris Poll found "an overwhelming majority of U.S. patients who received telehealth services since March 2020 (84 percent) plan to continue using telehealth appointments in the future, citing reasons such as convenience (43 percent) or to avoid being around people who are ill (39 percent)." 57% say they would be more likely to get follow-up medical care if telehealth appointments were an option.

But beyond telehealth, the Harris Poll also addressed overall online access to providers. 58% of patients stated they want online access to their healthcare provider. Age plays a role in this: Patients from 18-54 are significantly more likely than patients 55 and older to say they would like to have more online access to their healthcare provider (68% under age 55 and 43% age 55+.) The wish list includes:

• online appointment scheduling (49 percent)
• ability to check-in or complete health forms/appointment paperwork online before an appointment (49 percent)
• online prescription management (48 percent)
• online medical records access (47 percent)

The HIMSS survey report: “Patient Communication Preferences in 2021,” concludes that "since the pandemic began, more regular communication is expected from healthcare providers. During the pandemic, emailing and texting healthcare providers has increased with almost half of patients saying they prefer to communicate with healthcare providers via text.”

Their survey found that:

• Overall, 65 percent of people would like to receive healthcare text messages.
• Text communication rose by 14 percent during the pandemic.
• Eighty-seven percent of respondents said convenience was the reason they prefer messaging with providers.
• More than one-third of patients would be willing to switch providers to receive more modern communication like real-time text messaging.