971 Preferences and perceived needs for telehealth use among maternity care providers nationally

Abstract

To describe variations in preferences for future use of and needs for telehealth among maternity care providers who participated in a national survey. We conducted a web-based survey of telehealth use among providers nationally who provided maternity care from July 14 to September 15, 2020, with a particular focus on use during the COVID-19 pandemic. Providers were sampled purposefully through national professional organizations. Respondents were asked to classify their locations of practice as rural, small town, suburban, or urban. Preferred future use of telehealth modalities as well as perceived needs were compared between rural/small town providers and urban/suburban providers. Analyses were conducted using STATA 15 with significance assigned to a p<0.05. 210 providers participated in the survey, representing 46 states. Of these respondents, 126 (60%) practiced in urban/suburban areas and 84 (40%) practice in rural locations or a small town. Overall, 84% reported using telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic and 70% stated they would like to start/continue using telehealth after the pandemic (urban/suburban: 73%; rural/small town: 60%; p=0.04). Video visits were the most selected telehealth modality that both rural/small town and urban/suburban providers desired to continue (Table 1). Assistance with remote patient monitoring was the most identified future need among both groups of providers (Table 2). There was a significant difference between rural/small town providers and urban/suburban providers’ need for future assistance with clinic workflow, billing and coding, interpreter services, and telehealth platforms (p<0.05 for all). There are significant differences in both the desire to continue with telehealth as well as perceived needs for future use by practice location. This survey study can provide key insights into how providers utilize telehealth services and what they will need to improve use in the future.View Large Image Figure ViewerDownload Hi-res image Download (PPT)