Patient Satisfaction in Telehealth in Annual Wellness Evaluations

Background: In 2016, the United States spent approximately 730 billion dollars treating preventable disease. Annual Wellness Evaluations (AWE’s) are an opportunity for providers to identify individualized risks and in this way reduce unnecessary costs and improve their patient’s health. Recent studies presented high levels of patient satisfaction with telehealth. Offering AWEs through telehealth could increase utilization of this important health evaluation. Objectives: To evaluate patient satisfaction using the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers Survey (CAHPS) with telehealth in AWE’s and compare the results to patients who participate within in-office consults, and other small practices across the United States. To understand if telehealth is a viable method of improving access to healthcare for preventive health. Methods: Two groups (telehealth and in-office) in Orange County, California were screened for telehealth readiness. Both groups received 40-minute AWE’s evaluations, a diet consult, a 20-minute follow-up over the course of a month and were alternately entered into each group. The Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers Survey (CAHPS) 3.0 was offered after the follow-up consult. Results: Out of five observations four responded in the in-office group and 80% reported 10/10 satisfaction on CAHPS 3.0. For five observations in the telehealth group reported 80% evaluated their providers with a 10/10 satisfaction score). Conclusion: Participants in the telehealth group reported higher levels of satisfaction when compared to in-office healthcare settings according to the national results of the CAHPS (72%) and compared to the same office in-person group. The project will continue until 102 participants are entered