Research Finds Virtual Care as Convenient but May Fail to Build Long-Term Patient Connections

Sanjula Jain’s recent research on virtual care and telehealth useage with her organization, Trilliant Health, reveals important insights into consumer behavior and healthcare strategies.

As the company’s chief research officer, Jain and her team discovered that telehealth use is mostly driven by personal preferences — consumers who love the convenience, while others still prefer seeing a doctor in person because they think it's better quality.

The research also left her questioning how effective the popular "digital front door" strategy is.

This strategy uses virtual services, including telehealth and online scheduling, as an initial point of contact to attract and retain patients.

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The goal is to build patient loyalty by making access to care more convenient and always accessible, though Jain shared it doesn't always lead to long-term engagement with the same provider.

Related: Hospitals Should Consider Clinical Use, Payment Parity When Investing in Telehealth Post-Pandemic

“Just because a patient engages with your provider or organization for something virtually doesn't mean they're going to come to you...for other high acuity, high margin services,” she said.

This suggests that virtual care, especially for less serious health issues, may not be the best at building long-term relationships between patients and providers as people once thought.