Research Insights: How Can the Full Potential of Telemedicine Be Unlocked?
Peer Reviewed
Date issued
Jul 2023
Subject
Behavioral Economics;
Telemedicine;
Mobile App;
Health Care System;
Health Care Service;
Pandemic;
Health Care;
Health;
Health Facility;
Natural Disaster;
E-Health;
Science and Technology;
Health Insurance;
Mobile Connectivity
JEL code
I11 - Analysis of Health Care Markets;
I13 - Health Insurance, Public and Private;
D83 - Search • Learning • Information and Knowledge • Communication • Belief • Unawareness;
C93 - Field Experiments
Country
Argentina
Category
Catalogs and Brochures
An intervention in Argentina that sent periodic emails to households about available telemedicine services effectively increased the adoption of and demand for telemedicine. Patients who were part of the intervention were significantly more likely to use telemedicine services. The number of virtual consultations by the group that received the email intervention was six times larger than those of the control group after eight months. The study found that the intervention had lasting effects, suggesting that getting patients to try telemedicine for the first time can lead to continued use over time.
