Urban residents were more likely to use telemedicine. Although rural Coloradans might need to travel further for medical care, they were less likely to use telemedicine than their urban counterparts (26.8% compared with 36.0%). This represents an opportunity for providers to expand telemedicine offerings or increase education about the availability of telemedicine. This could potentially save rural residents the need to drive long distances for medical care.
It’s also possible that telemedicine services are less available to some rural Coloradans due to lack of fast and reliable broadband service. Additionally, rural residents are more likely to be uninsured (7.5%) than urban residents (4.1%), so the fact that insurance coverage expanded to include telehealth may have less impact in this group.
Many preferred in-person visits. Among those who did not use telemedicine, most simply preferred to be seen in person. In 2023, nearly 85.4% of those who didn’t have a telemedicine appointment in the past 12 months said they would rather go in person, compared with 75.3% in 2021. Additionally, 46.8% said that they didn’t need health care, compared with 62.8% in 2021, and 39.9% said their health care needs couldn’t be addressed through phone or video. That was up from 28.5% in 2021.
Many respondents, however, expressed a willingness to use telemedicine in the future, with nearly four in 10 (39.0%) indicating they were extremely likely or very likely to use telemedicine in the future. Another 32.5% said they were somewhat likely to use telemedicine. Nearly three in 10 (28.4%) said they were not very likely or not at all likely to use it.
Mental health care made its mark in telemedicine. Although telemedicine retained its popularity, the types of care it was used for shifted. Mental health care saw a significant increase, with 29.1% of Coloradans reporting their most recent telemedicine visit was for mental health care, up from 17.6% in 2021.
Primary care remained the type of care most recently accessed through telemedicine, with 46.1% of respondents saying their most recent visit was for primary care, down slightly from 51.0% in 2021. Other types of care, including specialist care, showed slight declines.
Telemedicine was not without its problems. Some Coloradans who used telemedicine reported challenges with communication, technology, or privacy. Respondents could report more than one challenge, and the types of issues varied. About one in 13 people (7.6%) who used telemedicine noted difficulty using the portal or app, and another 7.4% said they did not receive clear guidance about what was supposed to happen before, during, or after the appointment.
Hispanic / Latino Coloradans and young adults were least likely to have had a telemedicine visit.
Use of telehealth varied by race, often following trends in the use of health care overall. Just 31.1% of Hispanic or Latino Coloradans using telehealth within the past 12 months, compared with 38.4% of Black or African American Coloradans, 35.6% of white Coloradans, and 36.4% of Coloradans of another race.
Additionally, Coloradans ages 31-49 were most likely to have had a telemedicine appointment in the past year (43.8%). They were followed by people 50 to 64 (38.4%) and those who were 65 and older (37.8%). Coloradans 18 to 30 years old were the least likely to have had a telemedicine visit in the past 12 months (35.4%).
Embracing telemedicine must include education. Telemedicine has proven its potential to provide convenient and accessible care for many health needs, especially for mental health care. But continued use and expansion of telemedicine requires increased education and communication from providers to ensure that technology issues or lack of clear guidance and instructions don’t prevent people from fully benefitting from it.
Additionally, while telemedicine is a valid option for many, significant numbers of people will continue to have needs that can’t be addressed via phone or video, or they may prefer to visit a health care provider in person. The health care system must embrace flexibility to ensure that individual needs and preferences are met.
