Survey of Patient Experiences with Telehealth

What We Did:

MHQP developed and launched a first-in-the-nation survey focused on patient experience with telehealth in response to the massive shift to virtual care during the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this effort was to benchmark patient experiences with telehealth services, provide data to establish improvement targets, and encourage provider organizations to identify best practices. The survey was fielded between November 2020 and February 2021.

In collaboration with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA), MHQP developed reports for Massachusetts provider organizations detailing the quantitative and qualitative findings from this survey.  These reports were supplied to provider organizations pro bono to aid them in developing their telehealth offerings during the pandemic.

Who Was Involved:

This survey was developed and conducted in partnership with BCBSMA. Given the pilot nature of the survey, BCBSMA has agreed to use the results only for low-stakes internal business needs, including information, planning, quality improvement and policy development.

Why This Work Matters:

The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed the delivery of healthcare with unprecedented speed. Almost overnight, federal and state regulatory agencies have enabled payers and providers to adopt the widespread use of telehealth for patient clinician visits. Understanding the patient experience in this new landscape and understanding how virtual care delivery is evolving to meet new expectations will enable payers and regulatory bodies to develop policies to guide effective growth and positive change.