Thirty-seven percent of adults used telemedicine within the past 12 months, according to a report by the CDC.
The analysis outlined the percentage of adults who used telemedicine in the past 12 months by geographic and sociodemographic characteristics based on the 2021 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS).
Women were more likely to report telehealth use, with 42% reporting using telemedicine compared with 31.7% of men.
Telehealth use differed by race and Hispanic origin, with 40.6% of Non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Natives reporting telehealth use during the time period.
Non-Hispanic white adults were close behind, at 39.2% using telemedicine over the past 12 months, while 33.1% of Non-Hispanic Black adults utilized the service.
Of Non-Hispanic Asian adults, 33% used telemedicine, and of Hispanic adults, 32.8% remotely connected with healthcare providers.
For adults with family incomes less than 100% of the federal poverty level (FPL) and those with incomes of 100% to less than 200% of the FPL, the use of telemedicine was similar, at 33.1% and 32.1% respectively.
Use of telemedicine, however, increased to 40.7% with a family income of 400% or greater of FPL.
The percentage of adults using telemedicine also increased with education level, with 28.7% reporting use among adults with less than a high school diploma or GED and 43.2% use by adults with a college degree or higher.
Telemedicine use was highest among individuals living in the Northeast (40%) and West (42.4%), as opposed to those in the Midwest (33.3%) and the South (34.3%).
