The percentage of office-based physicians who reported having telephone consults with patients during their last normal week of practice increased from 35.8% in 2018 to 57.4% in 2020. The percentage who reported having Internet/email consults with patients also increased from 13.9% in 2018 to 26.8% in 2020. In both years, physicians were more likely to report having telephone than Internet/email consults.
Source: National Center for Health Statistics, National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, 2018 and 2020. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/ahcd/about_ahcd.htm
Footnotes
With 95% CIs indicated by error bars.
Defined as the percentage of physicians who reported having at least one telephone consult or at least one Internet/email consult with patients, in response to the survey question, “During your last normal week of practice, about how many encounters of the following type did you make with patients: a) telephone consults?, b) Internet or email consults?”
Based on samples of nonfederally employed office-based physicians who were primarily engaged in direct patient care. Physicians in the specialties of anesthesiology, pathology, and radiology were excluded from the survey.