Telemedicine enhances care quality and physician satisfaction

Telemedicine not only enhances the quality of care but also boosts physician satisfaction, according to new research from Binghamton University, State University of New York.

When the COVID-19 lockdown hit in early 2020, it disrupted our daily routines and forced businesses, including healthcare, to adapt quickly. For physicians, the challenge was particularly acute as they could no longer meet with patients in person. Telemedicine became a vital alternative, especially for patients in remote areas or regions with high infection rates.

A study conducted by Binghamton University’s School of Management highlights the positive impact of this shift. While telemedicine was expected to improve patient care, the research also found that it significantly increased physician satisfaction. As restrictions ease, the researchers suggest that telemedicine will likely remain a preferred method for healthcare delivery in the future.

“Before the pandemic, face-to-face visits were the norm, and telemedicine was not widely embraced,” said Sumantra Sarkar, an associate professor at Binghamton University involved in the study. “Many physicians were not trained in telemedicine, so they initially felt overwhelmed by having to learn new tools and techniques during the pandemic. This led to increased stress and burnout.”

Sarkar and his colleagues aimed to assess whether telemedicine could positively influence physician satisfaction and help alleviate burnout.

“COVID broke down many of the perceived limitations of telemedicine, and our study is one of the first to explore how it impacts physician satisfaction and the quality of care during the pandemic,” Sarkar noted.

The research used data from the 2021 National Electronic Health Records Survey, which gathered responses from 10,302 physicians across the U.S. Of these, 1,875 responded to telemedicine-specific questions. The study examined the effects of telemedicine features on physician satisfaction, care quality, and the percentage of patient visits conducted virtually.

The findings aligned with earlier studies, showing that 65% of surveyed physicians were satisfied with patient relationships during telemedicine visits. However, this study went further by exploring how specific features of telemedicine, such as videoconferencing and platforms integrated with electronic health records, contributed to that satisfaction.

“We anticipated more resistance from physicians to using telemedicine, but during COVID, they realized its benefits—allowing them to continue serving patients despite the constraints of in-person visits,” Sarkar explained. “As telemedicine continues to grow, it’s crucial to keep understanding its impact on physicians. It can reduce costs significantly; for example, imagine a patient traveling 100 miles for an appointment when telemedicine could achieve the same results.”