Epic Research, an online newsroom for clinicians and other healthcare professionals, recently released a new study focusing on follow-up rates after telehealth and office visits in the last three years. This research was in response to a previous survey Epic conducted that showed the majority of medical specialties exhibited a higher frequency of in-person follow-up within 90 days following an office visit compared to a telehealth visit.
To further understand the post-visit actions of patients, Epic Research compared follow-up rates for both telehealth and office visits in the 7, 30, and 90 days following the initial encounter. These visits were studied over the course of three years, from January 2020 to August 2023, to measure how often a same-speciality follow-up occurred.
Here are a few key takeaways we found interesting:
- The follow-up rates following office visits or telehealth encounters in the 7, 30, or 90 days post-initial interaction have remained relatively stable over the past three years.
- While in most specialties, telehealth visits show a higher likelihood of follow-up within 7 days compared to office visits, this difference diminishes when examining 30 or 90-day follow-up rates.
Follow-Up Rate After Telehealth and Office Visits
The subsequent visits studied can take the form of either an office visit or a telehealth appointment but must align with the same department specialty as the initial encounter. In general, the follow-up rate was below 40% for both telehealth and office visits within 90 days of the initial meeting, below 25% within 30 days, and below 10% within 7 days, as illustrated in the figure above. These rates have remained constant since 2020.
Follow-Up Rates of Telehealth and Office Visits by Specialty
Epic Research then categorized data by department specialty for telehealth and office visits between July 2022 and August 2023 to examine post-pandemic trends. This analysis revealed that, compared to follow-ups after office visits, follow-ups within 90 days after a telehealth visit are more prevalent in 13 of the 24 department specialties under the study. Notably, OB/GYN, podiatry, and primary care emerged as the top specialties with higher follow-up rates after telehealth visits across all intervals. On the other hand, physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM and R), mental health, and sleep were the top specialties with higher follow-up rates after office visits across all intervals.
Epic Research Study Wrapped-Up
Epic Research's comprehensive study on follow-up rates after telehealth and office visits from January 2020 to August 2023 reveals consistent patterns. With proof from the study, it's clear that telehealth services are a favorable option in healthcare and provide an opportunity to engage patients. A healthcare mobile app can play a pivotal role in delivering these telehealth options for your patients and can spell the difference between patient retention and patient loss.
