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QuickStats: Percentage* of Office-Based Physicians Using Telemedicine Technology,† by Specialty§ — United States, 2019 and 2021
Weekly / December 9, 2022 / 71(49);1565
* With 95% CIs indicated by error bars.
† Telemedicine technology was defined as the use of audio with video or web videoconference for patient visits.
§ Primary care physicians are defined as physicians in the following specialties: general and family practice, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, and pediatrics. Surgical specialty physicians are defined as physicians in general surgery, obstetrics and gynecology surgery, ophthalmology, orthopedic surgery, other, otolaryngology, and urology. Medical specialty physicians are defined as physicians in cardiovascular diseases, dermatology, neurology, other, and psychiatry.
From 2019 to 2021, the use of telemedicine technology increased for office-based physicians from 15.4% to 85.9%. In both 2019 and 2021, the use of telemedicine technology was higher among primary care physicians and medical specialty physicians than it was among surgical specialty physicians. In 2021, 91.4% of primary care physicians, 87.2% of medical specialty physicians, and 74.8% of surgical specialty physicians used telemedicine technology.
Sources: National Center for Health Statistics, National Electronic Health Records Surveys, 2019 and 2021. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nehrs/about.htm
Reported by: Kelly L. Myrick, PhD, kmyrick@cdc.gov, 301-458-4498; Malikah McNeal, MPH; Carol DeFrances, PhD.
Suggested citation for this article: QuickStats: Percentage of Office-Based Physicians Using Telemedicine Technology, by Specialty — United States, 2019 and 2021. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2022;71:1565. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7149a6.
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