Telehealth Use Increases Overall in 2021, But Growth Stabilizes

The CHIME Digital Health Most Wired survey found 26% of healthcare organizations reported a quarter or more of their patients have used telehealth, compared with only 7% in 2019.

This year, 26% of healthcare organizations – including acute care, ambulatory care and long-term or post-acute care facilities – reported a quarter or more of their patients had used telehealth. The CHIME survey found 80% of acute and ambulatory care organizations reported greater than 10% of their patients had used telemedicine services in the past year, while 68% of long-term care facilities reported telehealth use at that level. Though telehealth, virtual care and other digital health offerings were available before COVID-19, the pandemic pushed healthcare providers and patients to adopt these tools more rapidly.