News: Patients equally satisfied with telehealth encounters as in-person visits

According to a large-scale Press Ganey survey, patients are as satisfied with telehealth interactions as they are with in-person encounters, reported Accreditation & Quality Compliance Center.

The survey was conducted over a six-week period concluding at the end of April and includes more than 30,000 responses. During that time respondents reported nearly 70% of their encounters involved a full or mixed telehealth component. Mixed visits could have included a combination of video and in-person visits, telephone, email, or text.

A chart in the report demonstrates tight alignment between patient's satisfaction scores for virtual or in-person visits when asked about their likelihood of recommending a care provider, the provider's concerns for their questions or worries, efforts to include them in decisions, explanations of problems and conditions, treatment discussions, and "whether the staff worked together to care for you."

Accreditation & Quality Compliance Center reported that the survey also indicates opportunities to improve processes related to telemedicine. For example, ease of scheduling appointments and ease of contacting the provider scored much lower for virtual care versus in-office visits. As a result, patients are less likely to recommend virtual visits to others compared to office encounters.

"This is not unexpected given the quick, large-scale transition to telemedicine and the learning curve for the provider and the patient," the report says. "These data highlight opportunities for enhancing the physician–patient connection by addressing technical barriers that impede consistent and reliable communication."

The report suggests several recommendations to help providers enhance the patient experience when conducting virtual visits:

• Be genuine and conscious of the warmth conveyed during the opening and closing of each session. Confirm that the patient can hear and see you clearly and avoid interruptions.
• Set an agenda at the outset. Identify and confirm the patient’s priorities and communicate how they will be addressed.
• Consistently convey empathy through language. Deliberately check in about patients’ worries or concerns throughout the visit and especially at the end of the session. 
• Bring structure to officially closing out the session. Summarize the post-visit plan, reinforcing patient and provider actions. Review questions and answers. Offer instructions for follow-up concerns.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on Accreditation & Quality Compliance Center. To read more about telehealth encounters in the time of COVID-19, click here.