Knowledge, Readiness, Willingness-to-Use, and Willingness-to-Pay for Telehealth in Nonlife-Threatening Emergency Department Visits
Background: The emergency department (ED) provides a significant portion of health care services in the United States, and its utilization has increased over the past decade. ED overcrowding remains a considerable challenge to many EDs. The objectives of this study were (1) to evaluate the knowledge...
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Mary Ann Liebert
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Telemedicine Reports |
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| Online Access: | https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/tmr.2024.0085 |
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| author | Vahé Heboyan Phillip Coule Davide Mariotti Gianluca De Leo |
| author_facet | Vahé Heboyan Phillip Coule Davide Mariotti Gianluca De Leo |
| author_sort | Vahé Heboyan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: The emergency department (ED) provides a significant portion of health care services in the United States, and its utilization has increased over the past decade. ED overcrowding remains a considerable challenge to many EDs. The objectives of this study were (1) to evaluate the knowledge of telehealth and readiness to use it among patients who visit EDs in a nonurgent triage category and (2) to estimate their willingness-to-use and willingness-to-pay for telehealth consultations. Methods: A structured questionnaire was administered using a tablet to adult patients who visited the ED of a large medical center and who were triaged into a nonurgent category. Respondents were asked about their sociodemographic and ED visit characteristics and health and telehealth utilization history. Then, we presented them with a hypothetical scenario for visiting a board-certified ED doctor through telehealth instead of in-person visits, and, using a double-bound dichotomous choice iterative bidding algorithm, we solicited their willingness-to-pay for such a telehealth visit. Results: A total of 171 patients agreed to participate in the study. More than half of the respondents (n = 107; 62.6%) said they have health insurance. Almost half of the respondents (n = 71; 41.5%) reported the main reason for going to the ED was an ongoing condition or concern. More than two-thirds of the respondents identified themselves as being very proficient with using a smartphone or tablet (n = 116; 67.8%), and only a few (n = 21; 12.3%) reported not having any internet-capable device. Most respondents (n = 148; 86.5%) had never heard about telehealth. However, after a brief description of telehealth, we found that approximately two-thirds of the patients would be willing to use or consider using telehealth (n = 107; 62.6%), and one-third (n = 64; 37.4%) would not be interested. We did not observe any statistically significant differences in willingness-to-use. However, we observed statistically significant differences in the willingness-to-pay $50 by gender (p < 0.01), by currently having a regular doctor/clinic (p < 0.05), and by health insurance status. Conclusions: Hospitals should consider investigating telehealth services that can be provided to their communities as an option instead of visiting their EDs. While technology does not seem to be a barrier to telehealth, more educational initiatives to inform the public about telehealth are desirable. A targeted advertisement campaign to recommend telehealth for nonlife-threatening ED visits could be developed once more user characteristics are collected. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-02ac22245e874e5bb869a4f4ef8f48ff |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2692-4366 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Mary Ann Liebert |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Telemedicine Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-02ac22245e874e5bb869a4f4ef8f48ff2025-08-20T01:50:53ZengMary Ann LiebertTelemedicine Reports2692-43662025-01-0161344310.1089/tmr.2024.0085Knowledge, Readiness, Willingness-to-Use, and Willingness-to-Pay for Telehealth in Nonlife-Threatening Emergency Department VisitsVahé Heboyan0Phillip Coule1Davide Mariotti2Gianluca De Leo3Augusta University, Augusta, GA, USA.Augusta University, Augusta, GA, USA.Walden University, Minneapolis, MN, USA.Augusta University, Augusta, GA, USA.Background: The emergency department (ED) provides a significant portion of health care services in the United States, and its utilization has increased over the past decade. ED overcrowding remains a considerable challenge to many EDs. The objectives of this study were (1) to evaluate the knowledge of telehealth and readiness to use it among patients who visit EDs in a nonurgent triage category and (2) to estimate their willingness-to-use and willingness-to-pay for telehealth consultations. Methods: A structured questionnaire was administered using a tablet to adult patients who visited the ED of a large medical center and who were triaged into a nonurgent category. Respondents were asked about their sociodemographic and ED visit characteristics and health and telehealth utilization history. Then, we presented them with a hypothetical scenario for visiting a board-certified ED doctor through telehealth instead of in-person visits, and, using a double-bound dichotomous choice iterative bidding algorithm, we solicited their willingness-to-pay for such a telehealth visit. Results: A total of 171 patients agreed to participate in the study. More than half of the respondents (n = 107; 62.6%) said they have health insurance. Almost half of the respondents (n = 71; 41.5%) reported the main reason for going to the ED was an ongoing condition or concern. More than two-thirds of the respondents identified themselves as being very proficient with using a smartphone or tablet (n = 116; 67.8%), and only a few (n = 21; 12.3%) reported not having any internet-capable device. Most respondents (n = 148; 86.5%) had never heard about telehealth. However, after a brief description of telehealth, we found that approximately two-thirds of the patients would be willing to use or consider using telehealth (n = 107; 62.6%), and one-third (n = 64; 37.4%) would not be interested. We did not observe any statistically significant differences in willingness-to-use. However, we observed statistically significant differences in the willingness-to-pay $50 by gender (p < 0.01), by currently having a regular doctor/clinic (p < 0.05), and by health insurance status. Conclusions: Hospitals should consider investigating telehealth services that can be provided to their communities as an option instead of visiting their EDs. While technology does not seem to be a barrier to telehealth, more educational initiatives to inform the public about telehealth are desirable. A targeted advertisement campaign to recommend telehealth for nonlife-threatening ED visits could be developed once more user characteristics are collected.https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/tmr.2024.0085emergency medicinetelehealthwillingness-to-paypatient perception |
| spellingShingle | Vahé Heboyan Phillip Coule Davide Mariotti Gianluca De Leo Knowledge, Readiness, Willingness-to-Use, and Willingness-to-Pay for Telehealth in Nonlife-Threatening Emergency Department Visits Telemedicine Reports emergency medicine telehealth willingness-to-pay patient perception |
| title | Knowledge, Readiness, Willingness-to-Use, and Willingness-to-Pay for Telehealth in Nonlife-Threatening Emergency Department Visits |
| title_full | Knowledge, Readiness, Willingness-to-Use, and Willingness-to-Pay for Telehealth in Nonlife-Threatening Emergency Department Visits |
| title_fullStr | Knowledge, Readiness, Willingness-to-Use, and Willingness-to-Pay for Telehealth in Nonlife-Threatening Emergency Department Visits |
| title_full_unstemmed | Knowledge, Readiness, Willingness-to-Use, and Willingness-to-Pay for Telehealth in Nonlife-Threatening Emergency Department Visits |
| title_short | Knowledge, Readiness, Willingness-to-Use, and Willingness-to-Pay for Telehealth in Nonlife-Threatening Emergency Department Visits |
| title_sort | knowledge readiness willingness to use and willingness to pay for telehealth in nonlife threatening emergency department visits |
| topic | emergency medicine telehealth willingness-to-pay patient perception |
| url | https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/tmr.2024.0085 |
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