Level of Use and User Groups of Online Video Consultations in Outpatient Medical Care: Analysis of Claims Data

Abstract

Despite perceived potentials, billability as a standard service to the statutory health insurance (SHI) and various promotional measures, online video consultation has not yet established itself as a fixed component of everyday outpatient care. Longer-term quantitative studies on the degree of utilisation have been lacking so far. However, these are essential for a better understanding of diffusion processes and the effects of promotional measures. The present study represents a first step towards a continuous examination. The utilisation of video consultations in outpatient care was examined from the beginning of their reimbursability in April 2017 until the end of 2018. In order to get an overview of the user groups, relevant physician and patient characteristics (specialist group, age, region) that can be depicted in the billing data were also investigated. During the 21 months of the observation period, a total of 320 video consultations were conducted, with monthly usage figures in 2018 already twice as high as in 2017. Overall, 105 insurants used at least one video consultation (average age 74.6 years; 59.8 from urban regions). Among the 30 doctors who used video consultation, 36.7% were general practitioners, representing the largest group of physicians. The study underlines the low significance of online video consultations in outpatient care in the first 21 months after their introduction. The results are in line with previous findings from short-term analyses and demoscopic studies. They also point to initial usage trends that need to be further investigated with extended observation periods and broader data bases across several more statutory insurance companies.