Definitive Healthcare Survey: 2019 Outpatient Telehealth Adoption Remains Flat

While Overall Adoption Remains Flat, Re-Investments Continue to Rise

FRAMINGHAM, MA – August 6, 2019 – Definitive Healthcare, the leading provider of data, intelligence, and analytics on the healthcare provider market, today released results from its annual 2019 Outpatient Telehealth Study. In this survey, Definitive Healthcare polled physicians and healthcare administrators to determine to determine telehealth adoption trends, technology, and services.

• Adoption Remains Flat 2018 to 2019: Adoption rates of telehealth solutions/services by outpatient physician practices remained relatively flat from 2018 to 2019, lingering at about 44 percent. However, the mix of telehealth technology solutions did shift this year, with an increase in two-way video/webcam, mobile applications for concierge services, and clinical grade remote patient monitoring devices.
   
• Telehealth Technologies Regarded Effective: Physician practices with telehealth solutions already in place rated the effectiveness of these technologies relatively high at an average of 6.51 out of 10 – well above the midpoint, and above all other survey categories. This indicates that, despite hurdles that hinder telehealth investment or adoption, these solutions are effective when in use. 
   
• Providers with Telehealth Solutions Likely to Re-Invest: Roughly 65 percent of physician practices with a telehealth solution already in place plan to make further investments, up from 45 percent in 2018. Nearly 90 percent that plan to make an investment plan to do so in the next 18 months.
   
• No Need to Fix What’s Not Broken: Unlike the inpatient market, the priciness of telehealth solutions was not the primary barrier for outpatient adoption. In this survey, the majority of respondents (20.2%) cited “satisfaction with their practice’s current solutions and services” as their primary barrier when considering adopting telehealth technologies. Another major barrier for respondents, at 12.6%, was uncertainty surrounding reimbursement policies from insurance companies and at the national level.

“Based on these survey results, and the trends we’ve been observing in the market, there are three main hurdles that are currently hindering outpatient telehealth adoption. There is not only a need for more clarity around reimbursement policies, but also a need for more interoperable telehealth solutions that can be accessed through EHR or EMR systems as well as a better understanding about what types of telehealth options are available,” said Jason Krantz, CEO of Definitive Healthcare. “Until some of these issues are addressed, it may be some time before substantial outpatient investment is made in the telehealth arena.”

Definitive Healthcare’s market-leading data and analytics platform tracks all types of outpatient care facilities – more than 11,200 ambulatory surgery centers, 14,900 imaging centers, and 40,000 health clinics – allowing users to segment the outpatient market, review payor mixes, examine physician referral patterns, analyze surgeries by total charges, and much more. Currently, Definitive Healthcare serves 9 out of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies, 9 out of the top 10 healthcare information technology firms, and 9 out of the top 10 medical device companies. In January 2019, Definitive Healthcare announced the acquisition of HIMSS Analytics’ Data Services, further expanding its provider IT install and purchasing insights.

To learn more about this survey and its results, please contact Public Relations at pr@definitivehc.com.

About Definitive Healthcare
Definitive Healthcare is the leading provider of data and intelligence on hospitals, physicians, and other healthcare providers. Its product suite provides the most comprehensive and highest quality data available anywhere on 8,800 hospitals and IDNs; 148,000 physician groups; 1.7 million physicians, nurses, and allied health professionals; 11,200 ambulatory surgery centers; 14,600 imaging centers; 91,600 long-term care facilities; 40,000 clinics; 1,400 ACOs and HIEs; more than 4 billion commercial medical and Rx claims; 115,000 clinical trials; and 900 Canadian hospitals. The company’s data provides its 2,200+ clients with the analytics and insight needed to effectively segment and research the healthcare provider market. Definitive Healthcare is backed by Advent International and Spectrum Equity. For more information, or to trial the service, visit https://www.definitivehc.com/.

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