Telehealth Modality Preferences for Video and Voice-Only Visits Among US Clinicians and the Public: Cross-Sectional, Web-Based Survey Study

Although telehealth connections with video are increasingly common, important factors are associated with a preference for voice-only telehealth connections. Clinicians prefer video over voice-only connections more than patients do for new clinical relationships and new clinical problems. For follow-up care, both clinicians and the public prefer voice-only telephone visits over video. Barriers to video-enabled telehealth experiences include technology failures, varied technology platforms across providers, and a need for more reliable high-speed internet connection. Voice-only telephone-mediated services can potentially improve health care access and experiences in light of these barriers to video-based care.