Telemedicine Usage Statistics By Market Trends, Adoption And Regional

Introduction

Telemedicine Usage Statistics: Telemedicine, sometimes called telehealth (although not the same), is when healthcare services are delivered using technology like video calls. This became especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic, as people needed to stay apart to keep the virus from spreading. Virtual doctor visits became essential to protect vulnerable people from going to healthcare facilities. Before COVID-19, telemedicine was used in some places, but the pandemic sped up its growth. Other reasons for the increase include rising healthcare costs and more money being put into telemedicine software.

Surveys show that patients now enjoy the convenience of telemedicine, especially for non-urgent medical needs. This trend also benefits doctors and healthcare workers. We shall shed more light on Telemedicine Usage Statistics through this article.

Editor’s Choice

• Telemedicine Usage Statistics stated that almost 37% of adults aged 18 and older used telemedicine in the past year.
• By 2023, the telemedicine industry is expected to be worth $194.1 billion.
• Virtual healthcare use is 38 times higher now than before the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The number of people using telemedicine increases with age, from 29.4% of adults aged 18-29 to 43.3% of adults 65 and older.
• More women (42%) use telemedicine than men (31.7%).
• White non-Hispanic people (39.2%) and Native American non-Hispanic people (40.6%) are more likely to use telemedicine than Hispanic (32.8%), African American (33.1%), and Asian (33%) people.
• Native American non-Hispanic people (40.6%) are more likely to use telemedicine than African Americans, Hispanics, and Asians.
• People with higher education levels are more likely to use telemedicine, with 28.7% of those without a high school diploma using it, compared to 43.2% of people with at least a college degree.
• Telemedicine Usage Statistics stated that Telemedicine use is lower in some urban areas, where it has dropped by 50% compared to rural areas.
• Telehealth usage increased during the pandemic due to new Medicare payment rules, but as of 2023, Congress has only extended these rules until the end of 2024.
• During the pandemic, telehealth policies allowed prescriptions for controlled substances like opioids and stimulants to be made remotely, leading to more tele-prescriptions.
• Whether remote prescribing for controlled substances continues will depend on decisions from the Drug Enforcement Administration since the current rules will end in 2024.

Current Telemedicine Market Trends

Research from Mordor Intelligence shows that the telemedicine market is expected to grow from about $151.42 billion with a yearly growth rate (CAGR) of 13.88%, reaching $290 billion by 2028.

(Source: scnsoft.com)

The telemedicine industry has three main parts: Telehospitals, Telehomes, and Mobile Health. All three are set to expand.

#1. Telephone

• Telehome, or Telehomecare, means healthcare and health monitoring provided at home. This has become one of the top trends in telemedicine.
• The rise in chronic diseases (about 6 out of 10 adults in the U.S. have at least one) is helping push this trend.
• People with chronic conditions need long-term care, and technology is making this care more convenient.
• Rural areas, where it’s harder to get good healthcare, are benefiting from reliable internet that allows access to telemedicine.

#2. Telehospitals

• Millennials (ages 27-42) and Gen Z are the most tech-friendly groups, making them a key market for telehospitals.
• These generations are expected to keep driving the growth of telehospitals, especially in 2024 and beyond.

#3. Mobile Health

• Mobile Health, or mHealth, is a major trend in telemedicine. It includes things like apps that help with health exercises or connecting directly with doctors.
• The growth of smartphones and tablets is a big reason for mHealth’s rise. These devices can connect to more medical tools, send data to doctors, or even suggest possible diagnoses.

#4. Chronic Care Management

• Managing chronic conditions through telemedicine is one of the biggest changes in the industry.
• Chronic diseases are a leading cause of death worldwide, so it’s important to manage them effectively.
• Using telemedicine for chronic care can lower costs, engage patients more, and improve disease control, which can lead to fewer deaths.

#5. Focus on Mental Health

• Telemedicine’s role in mental health care has grown a lot due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Mental health and substance use services have expanded significantly.
• In 2019, 39.4% of outpatient care used telehealth for mental health, and during the pandemic, this jumped to 88.1%.
• There’s more focus now on including mental health care in telemedicine for better overall care.

#6. Improved User Experience (UX)

• As the telemedicine industry grows, people expect better user experiences (UX) in telemedicine apps. In 2023, improving UX was one of the biggest trends and will continue to be in 2024.
• Features like easy navigation, quick access to important tools, and smooth design are key to keeping users happy.

Effectiveness of Telemedicine Statistics

• Consumers expect to use virtual healthcare services more in the next five years.
• Telemedicine Usage Statistics stated that almost 55% of patients feel they get better care through telehealth than in-office visits.
• 94% of people who have used digital healthcare would use it again.
• 5% of healthcare providers say virtual visits result in more effective treatment than in-person care.
• Almost 93% of healthcare providers think telehealth is an acceptable way to care for patients, and 60% are “very satisfied” with their experiences.
• 89% of healthcare providers believe telemedicine is at least an okay option for follow-up care.
• Only 5% of virtual healthcare visits end up needing an in-person checkup.
• Generally, 86% of hospitals and 79% of general practice offices offer telehealth because it helps break down barriers to care.
• More than 50% of healthcare providers agree that telemedicine helps patients avoid visits to the emergency room.
• In some cases, virtual visits provide better results than in-person healthcare visits.
• Banner Health’s Ambulatory Care program, which includes telehealth, reduced hospitalizations by 49.5% and 30-day readmissions by 75% in its first year.

(Reference: media.market.us)

• Virtual visits for veterans resulted in 25% fewer days spent in the hospital and 19% fewer hospital admissions.
• 93% of telepsychiatry patients’ hospitalizations say they can share the same information over the phone as they would in person.

Technological and Accessibility Challenge

• The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reports that 34 million Americans still don’t have reliable internet access.
• About 40% of people in rural areas of the U.S. don’t have proper internet, which makes it harder for telehealth to expand.
• 40% of telehealth visits face technical problems, showing there’s room for improvement in virtual healthcare.
• Nearly half (49.7%) of surgical specialists say telemedicine doesn’t work well for their field or patients.
• Telemedicine Usage Statistics stated that almost 7% of medical specialists feel that telemedicine isn’t suitable for their specialty or patient needs.
• 5% of primary care doctors believe telemedicine isn’t right for their specialty or patients.
• 63% of healthcare workers think cloud-based systems, like electronic health records, are most at risk for security breaches.
• Cybersecurity attacks on the healthcare industry went up by 74% from 2021 to 2022, showing growing risks for digital health systems.

Telemedicine Adoption Statistics

• The most common ways to use telehealth are through phone calls (59%), text messages (29%), and emails (11%).
• Millennials use telemedicine twice as much as Baby Boomers.
• One-third of people prefer telehealth visits instead of in-person visits.
• Nine out of ten people over 40 said they would feel comfortable using telemedicine for healthcare.
• On average, patients have 1.3 telehealth visits each year.
• The most common conditions treated through telehealth are sinus infections, colds/flu, and urinary tract infections.
• 85% of doctors use telehealth or a mix of in-person and virtual care.
• Telemedicine Usage Statistics stated that around 93% of doctors use live video calls with patients, while 69% do audio-only visits.
• 56% of doctors plan to keep using telehealth in their practices.
• Doctors use telehealth for many things, like treatment (77%), screening/diagnosis (72%), follow-up care (70%), monitoring (53%), and intake (41%).

(Reference: statista.com)

• Telehealth services include managing medical conditions (72%), chronic disease care (68%), specialty care (49%), mental health (44%), urgent care (37%), and preventative care (37%).
• Telemedicine Usage Statistics stated that nearly 63% of doctors think telehealth is a great addition to in-person care.
• Most doctors using telemedicine are between 30 and 50 years old.
• 67% of patients have at least one virtual health visit each year, and this number rises to 80% for people with long-term health conditions.
• 59% of patients prefer using their smartphones for virtual doctor visits, while 38% prefer using computers. 73% of patients want to continue using telemedicine after the pandemic.
• More women use telemedicine than men, with 42% of women using it compared to 31% of men.
• People 65 and older are the biggest users of telemedicine, with 43% using it, while only 29.4% of people aged 19-29 use telehealth.

Demographics and Socioeconomic Factors That Affect Telehealth Usage

• More women use telemedicine, with 42% using it compared to 31.7% of men.
• Telemedicine Usage Statistics stated that almost 37% of adults over 18 used telemedicine in the past year.
• Telemedicine use increases with age. It starts at 29.4% for people aged 18–29 and goes up to 43.3% for people aged 65 and older.
• 2% of Non-Hispanic White adults used telemedicine last year.
• Non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native adults have the highest telemedicine usage at 40.6%.

(Reference: usafacts.org)

• Telemedicine Usage Statistics stated that nearly 32.8% of Hispanic adults used telemedicine last year.
• 1% of Non-Hispanic Black adults used telemedicine in the past year.
• Almost 33% of non-Hispanic Asian adults used telemedicine during the same period.
• Adults with family incomes below 100% of the federal poverty level (FPL) used telemedicine at a rate of 33.1%.
• Adults with incomes between 100% and 200% of FPL used telemedicine at a rate of 32.1%.
• Adults with incomes above 400% of FPL used telemedicine the most, with a rate of 40.7%.
• People with higher education use telemedicine more, with 28.7% of those without a high school diploma using it and 43.2% of those with a college degree or more.
• The use of telemedicine is lower in urban areas. In big cities, 40.3% use it, but only 27.5% of people in rural areas do.

(Reference: media.market.us)

• In different regions, 40% of people in northern states and 42.4% in western states used telemedicine, compared to 34.3% in the South and 33.3% in the Midwest.
• 8% of Medicaid users and 27.4% of Medicare users used telehealth services.
• Nearly 74% of millennials prefer telehealth visits over going in person.
• 76% of people aged 55 and over said they used telemedicine.
• Almost 73% of people in rural areas have used telemedicine.
• About 40% of rural residents lack good internet access, which makes it harder to use telehealth.
• Telemedicine use increased by 12% for people over 55 and by 13% for people in rural areas.
• After the COVID-19 pandemic, 27% of patients said they were more comfortable with telemedicine.

Patient Satisfaction and Perception Statistics

• Telemedicine Usage Statistics stated that almost 96% of telepsychiatry patients are happy with the care they get through virtual mental health services.
• 93% of telepsychiatry patients feel they can share the same information online as they would in person.
• Among telehealth users, 42% say they are very satisfied, and 36% feel somewhat satisfied with their experience.

(Source: researchgate.net)

• Nearly 94% of people who use digital healthcare say they would use these services again.
• 93% of patients are interested in using telemedicine to manage their prescriptions.
• Around 91% of people think telemedicine helps them keep appointments, refill prescriptions, and follow medical guidelines.
• 55% of patients believe the quality of telehealth care is better than in-person visits.
• 60% of patients find telemedicine more convenient than going to in-person doctor appointments.
• 40% of patients plan to continue using telemedicine even after the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Telemedicine Usage Statistics stated that almost 63% of patients are interested in more digital health services, such as scheduling appointments online and using digital-first healthcare plans.

Regional Telemedicine Statistics

• North America is leading the world in telemedicine.
• Telemedicine Usage Statistics stated that almost 52% of adults in the U.S. have used telemedicine through video calls with their doctors.
• Digital health in North America is expected to earn $26.59 billion by the end of 2023.
• The market is expected to grow by 7.28% annually.
• Telemedicine use increases with age, and more women (42%) use it compared to men (31.7%).
• Telemedicine Usage Statistics state that people with higher education and income tend to use telemedicine more.
• The online doctor consultation market is expected to reach $5.88 billion in 2023.
• This market is expected to grow by 5.36% annually, reaching $7.25 billion by 2027.
• The number of users is expected to grow from 2.72% in 2023 to 2.89% by 2027.
• Each user is expected to bring in an average of $0.42k in revenue. (Source: Statista)

Telemedicine Use by Age and Gender in North America

• 37% of adults 18 and older have used telemedicine in the past year.
• 42% of women used telemedicine services.
• 7% of men used telemedicine services.
• 4% of people aged 18-29 used telemedicine.
• 3% of people aged 30-44 used telemedicine.
• 9% of people aged 45-64 used telemedicine.
• 43% of people aged 65 and older used telemedicine.

(Reference: media.market.us)

Telemedicine Market in India

• The telemedicine market in India was valued at $830 million in 2019.
• By 2022, the market’s revenue increased to $1.87 billion.
• By 2025, the market is expected to reach $4.19 billion in revenue.
• The market is growing at an annual rate of 31%.
• The Online Doctor Consultations segment is expected to generate $133 million in revenue in 2023.
• This revenue is projected to grow by 21.21% annually from 2023 to 2027, reaching $287.1 million by 2027.
• The number of users is expected to be 0.14% in 2023, with an increase to 0.20% by 2027.

Telemedicine Market in Europe

• This revenue is projected to grow at a rate of 6.63% each year until 2027.
• The number of users is expected to be 2.49% in 2023, and this will increase to 2.74% by 2027.
• Each user is expected to generate an average of $340 in revenue.
• In a different segment, the revenue from Online Doctor Consultations is estimated to be $352.4 million in 2023.
• This revenue is expected to grow by 9.48% annually from 2023 to 2027, reaching $506.3 million by 2027.
• User penetration in this segment is expected to be 1.02% in 2023 and rise to 1.15% by 2027.
• The average revenue per user in this segment is projected to be $141.60.

Future of Telemedicine

The growth of telehealth depends on both current and upcoming trends in the industry. While current trends have made telehealth a worldwide trend, here are some future developments that are expected to shape its future:

(Source: epicresearch.org)

• IoT and IoMT

The Internet of Things (IoT) and the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) are growing rapidly in healthcare and telehealth. With more IoMT devices being used, telehealth aims to connect more of these devices to improve people’s health. These devices can track important health signs like blood pressure, blood sugar, and heart rate. This will make it easier to access medical records and help doctors make better decisions for their patients.

• AI, ML, and Big Data

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are still developing technologies in IT. While these technologies have already improved things like thermal scans, stroke detection, and CT scan analysis, they will continue to grow and help telehealth. Big Data will help doctors track and predict future health trends. This will give important telehealth information that will help the industry grow and improve.

• EHR-Embedded Solutions

Integrating Electronic Health Records (EHR) into telehealth systems could change the way healthcare works. With EHR systems built into telehealth platforms, doctors will have easy access to key information about their patients’ health. This will help doctors make more accurate diagnoses and better treatment decisions using the most up-to-date and reliable health data.

Conclusion

To sum up, telemedicine is growing to be an important part of healthcare. Many patients, doctors, and specialists are finding it helpful because it makes healthcare easier to access and more convenient. However, there are still challenges, like not enough internet in rural areas, technical problems, and security risks.

Even with these issues, more people are using telehealth and digital health tools. With new technology improvements, telemedicine is expected to play a bigger role in the future, leading to better care and experiences for patients.

We have shed enough light on Telemedicine Usage Statistics through this article.