Expanding telehealth access calls for stronger physician support
Telehealth has transformed health care access, making it easier for millions of patients to connect with physicians without leaving home. New research from the University of Miami Business School finds that sustaining those gains will require health systems to address the operational demands virtual care can place on physicians.
A new study from the University of Miami Business School highlights the need for stronger physician support as telehealth expands access to care. The research examined records from nearly 4 million physicians in a major U.S. academic health system and found that telehealth allowed physicians to see more unique patients without increasing the total number of appointments.
Instead, they reshaped their schedules, dedicating more slots to new patient consultations and shifting routine follow-ups to electronic messages through patient portals. This shift expanded patient access but also created operational demands, with physicians handling about 30 additional patient messages each month, often outside normal work hours.
The study found that revenue gains from seeing more new patients were largely offset by the reduction in procedures, which are among the highest-revenue services for health care organizations. To make telehealth sustainable, health systems must address these operational challenges, such as supporting physicians with capacity, workflows, and compensation models that reflect the digital care environment.
Written by urgent.news from Medical Xpress's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
