Nearly 70% of Medicare Patients Comfortable with Telehealth for Annual Wellness Visit, Survey Shows
Patient preference does not decrease even if their usual provider is unavailable.
Telehealth has become increasingly popular since the COVID-19 pandemic and now almost three-quarters (69%) of Medicare patients are comfortable with their yearly wellness visit being conducted via telehealth, according to the results of a recent consumer survey from the virtual care network KeyChange.
The most popular benefits cited by participants were the decreased transportation time (39.25%), the option to avoid an office potentially full of sick people (30.7%) and quicker availability (20%).
The survey also found that 75% of Medicare patients would feel comfortable conducting their annual wellness visit with a provider who is not their regular physician.
"The results of this survey confirm that health systems have a tremendous opportunity to work with telehealth partners to deliver annual wellness visits to Medicare patients," said Lyle Berkowitz, M.D., CEO of KeyCare, in a press release. “A formal annual wellness visit provides great value for Medicare patients by ensuring their medical record is up to date while identifying social determinants of health issues and closing care gaps.”
These findings build upon last year’s KeyCare survey that revealed when presented with a telehealth option, only 37% of patients prefer going into the office.
Conversations With Perry and Friends
April 14th 2025Perry Cohen, Pharm.D., a longtime member of the Managed Healthcare Executive editorial advisory board, is host of the Conversations with Perry and Friends podcast. His guest this episode is John Baackes, the former CEO of L.A. Care Health Plan.
Listen
Why Better Data and Awareness Matters for Medicaid Work Requirements
April 17th 2025With policymakers considering work requirements for Medicaid eligibility, Jennifer Haley, principal research associate in the Health Policy Division at the Urban Institute, said it’s more important than ever to understand how those changes could unintentionally cause harm, particularly when data systems fall short and public awareness is limited.
Read More
Breaking Down Health Plans, HSAs, AI With Paul Fronstin of EBRI
November 19th 2024Featured in this latest episode of Tuning In to the C-Suite podcast is Paul Fronstin, director of health benefits research at EBRI, who shed light on the evolving landscape of health benefits with editors of Managed Healthcare Executive.
Listen
Medicaid Expansion Linked To Timelier Lung Cancer Surgery and Access to High-Volume Hospitals
April 17th 2025New research shows that Medicaid expansion was linked to a 2.1% increase in timely lung cancer surgeries and a 2.8% rise in procedures at high-volume hospitals, highlighting how policy changes can impact cancer care access.
Read More
