Since its rise in 2020, it’s safe to say telehealth is now a fixture of many people’s medical care.
However, there is a lot of variation in telehealth visits – often more than patients get (or expect) from in-office visits. From using different platforms and messaging in patient portals to adopting specific pre-visit protocols and scheduling entirely online, many patients have come to learn what they like and dislike in virtual visits.
One telehealth feature that is often highly variable is the background a provider uses during their patient calls. Recent research in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that over 66% of patients have a preference for office-based backgrounds that showcase diplomas on the wall. Patients consider the provider’s actual office and a virtual image of a standard office to be in the same vein. Respondents also find home offices to be a suitable background.
On the other hand, patients did not respond positively when providers’ home fixtures (namely, their bed or kitchen) were in view. Patients showed a preference for their provider blurring these backgrounds when they were unable to move elsewhere.
In addition to looking at provider backgrounds, the other variables tracked in this study were patient perception of provider qualities. These included professionalism, knowledgeability, trustworthiness, approachability, and demonstration of their care. When patients were comfortable with their provider’s virtual background, they also tended to rate the clinician higher in these areas.
We know that patients value the credibility and reputation of their providers. However, clinicians may view the seemingly unimportant details as minutiae rather than important aspects of the patient experience. As we’ve explained, studies such as this one suggest otherwise. So how can health plans use this to their advantage and emphasize the importance of telehealth specifics to organizations in their provider network?
- Encourage providers to prioritize using professional backgrounds during telehealth visits.
- Create informational checklists to help boost the professionalism of telehealth visits offered within your provider network.
- Offer provider training to improve the structure and flow of telehealth visits. This can be required for providers who are new to telehealth and offered as a refresher course to existing providers to achieve professional uniformity.