Survey: Most Patient Comfortable With Telehealth, Some Providers Worried About the Viability of Their Organization

Designating a separate entrance and treatment area for COVID-19 patients and enforcing social distancing in lobbies and waiting areas are among the steps that hospital executives could take to make patients less worried about COVID-19 exposure, according to the results of a survey conducted by Luma Health.

Luma Health is San Francisco-based digital health company that markets patient-provider communication and marketing tools.

In an online survey completed by 1,293 patients in August and September, 64% of the respondents indicated that a separate entrance and area could make them feel less worried about COVID-19 exposure and 57% said enforcing social distancing in lobbies would help ease those concerns.

Offering curbside care and “zero contact check-in” was favored by 40% of the respondents, and 53% said they would be interested in a curbside blood pressure check,

The company's survey included many questions telehealth and the answers were in keeping the prevailing thinking that patients and providers have responded well to the pivot into remote care and that telehealth has become a permanent part of the healthcare system. The results show that a slim majority (52%) of patients were comfortable or extremely comfortable with telehealth. A larger proportion (66%) indicated that they were satisfied with their telehealth experience.

The company also surveyed 165 healthcare providers. More than 60% of the providers indicated that they believe patients will experience illness that could have been avoided because of diverted or avoided care, and 38% expect non-COVID-19 deaths to occur because of care delay.

The survey reveals some providers are concerned about the future viability of their organizations. About a third of the providers indicated that their organizations are operating below 60% capacity, and roughly a quarter see a risk of their organization closing in a year or less if COVID-19 continues to disrupt care and cause revenue losses.