J.D. Power to Publish First-Ever Telehealth Satisfaction Study in November 2019

COSTA MESA, Calif., June 25, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- As new value-based payment models continue to re-define the consumer healthcare experience, the use of telehealth as a lower-cost form of medical consultation has skyrocketed in popularity. Among the commercially insured, telehealth visits increased 261% between 2015 and 2017¹ and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) report that telehealth adoption has grown more than 65%.² In order to evaluate customer satisfaction with this growing crop of telehealth providers, J.D. Power is launching its first-ever Telehealth Satisfaction Study in November 2019.

Evaluating telehealth providers in three categories—direct-to-consumer, payer-owned and health system-owned—the J.D. Power 2019 Telehealth Satisfaction Study will track the customer journey across five factors: awareness and selection; enrollment; consultation; billing and payment; and customer service. Objective benchmark performance metrics such as the J.D. Power Customer Satisfaction Index model and the Net Promoter Score³ will be reported along with various behavioral metrics in the form of key performance indicators. Advocacy and loyalty measures will also be collected to help determine and forecast adoption rates across the United States.

Further, as part of the study, J.D. Power will also evaluate Telehealth non-users to measure awareness, potential usage and expectations.

"With a combination of steady organic growth and announced changes to the CMS reimbursement schedule that will allow providers and payers to be reimbursed for utilization of telehealth services, the telehealth marketplace is on the verge of rapid expansion," said Greg Truex, Managing Director of Healthcare Intelligence at J.D. Power. "With the industry projecting a 20-30% increase in usage, it is critical to establish trusted, objective benchmarks for the quality of this type of service. Current providers are still figuring out what are the best performance metrics, what customers are really looking for in a telehealth experience and how to exceed patient expectations. This study will answer those questions and more."

"We know from our insurance market research this year that half of healthcare insurance consumers are considering telehealth as an alternative to traditional primary care, so we are interested in developing telehealth research in order to understand how consumers experience new technology in healthcare and how it affects their overall satisfaction with different providers," said James Beem, Managing Director of Healthcare Intelligence at J.D. Power.

J.D. Power award-eligible organizations that will be part of the study include (in alphabetical order):

Direct-To-Consumer Segment
98Point6
Amwell
Doctor On Demand
HealthTap
MeMD
MDLIVE
Teladoc

Payers Segment⁴
Aetna
Anthem
Blue Cross/Blue Shield
Cigna
Humana
United Healthcare

Health Systems Segment
Ascension
Adventist Health
Atrium Health
Catholic Health Initiatives
Dignity Health
Intermountain Healthcare
Kaiser Permanente
Memorial Hermann
Memorial Health
Mercyhealth
MultiCare
Novant Health
Ochsner Health
Providence Health
Spectrum Health
Sutter Health
Trinity Health
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (unranked)

J.D. Power is a global leader in consumer insights, advisory services and data and analytics. These capabilities enable J.D. Power to help its clients drive customer satisfaction, growth and profitability. Established in 1968, J.D. Power has offices serving North America, South America, Asia Pacific and Europe.

Media Relations Contacts
Geno Effler, J.D. Power; Costa Mesa, Calif.; 714-621-6224; [email protected]
John Roderick; St. James, N.Y.; 631-584-2200; [email protected]

About J.D. Power and Advertising/Promotional Rules: www.jdpower.com/business/about-us/press-release-info

¹ JAMA, Trends in Telemedicine Usage in a Large Commercially Insured Population, 2005-2017, Nov. 27, 2018 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2716547
² CMS.gov, Information on Medicare Telehealth, Nov. 15, 2018, https://www.cms.gov/About-CMS/Agency-Information/OMH/Downloads/Information-on-Medicare-Telehealth-Report.pdf
³  Net Promoter,® Net Promoter System,® Net Promoter Score,® NPS,® and the NPS-related emoticons are registered trademarks of Bain & Company, Inc., Fred Reichheld and Satmetrix Systems, Inc.
⁴ Special Oversample for Medicare and Medicaid recipients.

SOURCE J.D. Power