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Nemours survey supports continued use of telehealth

Nick Ciolino
/
Delaware Public Media

A new Nemours survey shows most parents are now more willing to use telehealth for their children’s doctor visits.

Like many health care providers, Nemours vastly increased its use of telehealth during the COVID lockdowns. 

And in a survey conducted a year after the WHO declared a global pandemic, 61 percent of parents say they are more willing to use the technology than before the pandemic. 

“In some ways that were a bit unexpected to us, the use of telehealth actually improved family dynamics and enhanced the ability for both parents to participate in the child’s care,” said Nemours President and CEO Lawrence Moss.          

Just under 90 percent of those surveyed say telehealth can help parents be more active and participate together in their child’s care.

And nearly half of all parents surveyed also reported having at least one adverse health determinate—like a lack of transportation or living in an unsafe community. 

Moss says telehealth use is actually more common among families with lower incomes. 

“For families with limited resources, families where both parents work, families who sometimes have less than optimal access to care, transportation is a big barrier and telehealth essentially removes that,” he said.           

Temporary federal and state reimbursement waivers were put into place last year to make telehealth more accessible. Interstate licensing restrictions were also removed. 

Moss says he hopes those changes will be made permanent through federal legislation.

The online survey was conducted in partnership with the telehealth platform Amwell and included more than 2,000 parents across the U.S.

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