Rising ‘tide’ of telehealth recedes

NEWS – eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth

The ‘tide’ of telehealth expected due to the pandemic was smaller than anticipated and has receded significantly over recent years, a new report shows.

The Health Quality and Safety Commission Te Tāhū Hauora report concludes that while use of phone and video has settled at higher levels since Covid-19, “those levels remain still well behind the potential delivery and potential demand for these services”.

‘A window on quality 2024’ says the rising ‘tide’ of telehealth was smaller than might have been expected and never went beyond 20 percent of appointments in primary care.

“Moreover, though the tide may not have receded completely, the drop was certainly substantial (to about 8 percent of appointments in November 2023). In other words, at all times, primary care was overwhelmingly dominated by in-person appointments,” it says.

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