Seemingly overnight, the COVID-19 pandemic propelled a revolution in virtual healthcare, accelerating innovations in telehealth technology and adoption, and normalizing the concept of virtual visits for millions of Americans. IHPI researchers who have been studying telehealth access, costs, and patient experience for many years are now analyzing outcomes from pandemic-driven virtual care, and providing guidance to providers, insurers, and policymakers for envisioning the future of remote healthcare delivery.

A recent report from IHPI’s Telehealth Research Incubator that examined data from Michigan Medicine, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, and other studies found that telehealth allowed providers to deliver the same quality of care and establish the same level of patient connection as in-person visits, and confirmed most providers’ interest in continuing to offer virtual visits at pandemic-level volumes. The report also found costs, visit cancellations, and no-show rates to be nearly equal between in-person and video visits, but also uncovered notable disparities in telehealth adoption, access, and perceptions by race, insurance, age, ZIP code-level broadband access, and practice size and location.