The interest in remote care is growing, along with its use. The corona crisis, as a result of which people are more accustomed to working from home and video calling, seems to be strengthening this growth. This is evident from research by e-health provider MedicInfo. Comparable research in the autumn of 2019 indicated that four out of ten Dutch people want to use some form of care or distance, such as video calling or telemonitoring. In the new survey, this is already 64 percent of all respondents.

The survey also shows that 50 percent of respondents are more open to remote care applications than in 2019. Almost four in ten (38%) respondents have already used remote care once or more, an increase of 19 percentage points compared to 2019. 62 percent indicate that they have not used this before. Nevertheless, a large majority (64%) is (completely) open to using or starting to use remote care, while only 12 indicate that they are not open to this at the moment.

Video calling is rising sharply in popularity

In comparison with the fall of 2019 many more people now want to make video calls. In 2019, this group was 29 percent, now 63 percent. Among young people (18-34 years old), even 78 percent prefer video calls to a physical consultation. For people aged 55 and older, this is still 48 percent, while 59 percent would like a telephone consultation as a remote care variant.

The main benefits of remote care that people experience or expect are convenience and time savings (no travel). A barrier to using remote care is the absence of personal and physical contact. There is doubt that the quality of diagnosis and care is less high in the case of remote care. It is therefore very important to tailor services for care at a distance to the personal needs and care demands of the care consumer.

Texting with GP, digital doctor's assistant

Two variants of remote care were tested in the study: the online GP and the digital doctor's assistant. In both cases, these are services where a care request is submitted in an app, where a team of medical professionals then provides appropriate medical advice remotely.

More than half of the people indicate that they want to use both concepts, with a small majority for the online GP (63%) compared to the digital doctor's assistant (61%). According to Medicinfo, interest in the online GP has increased significantly: from 41 percent in 2019 to 63 percent in 2020. The personal contact with expert medical professionals in particular makes this service attractive.

Convenience and time savings (people do not have to go to the practice) are also the biggest (expected) advantages for these services. For both services, the personal involvement of a medical professional is indicated as the most important factor for wanting to use this. More support is needed for a fully automated answer to a care question. If no nurse or GP is involved in the service, only a chatbot, then only 48 percent want to use it.

Preference for hybrid care

Remote care is therefore possible, according to the study by Medicinfo make a valuable contribution to solving challenges in healthcare, such as a growing shortage of general practitioners. Scaling up digital services is essential for this. When digitized communication, about simple care questions, takes place together or under the supervision of a qualified care provider, the support is greatest. A combination of care at a physical location and additional digital care – hybrid care – is seen as ideal.

Freedom of choice for remote care

At the end of October, a group of healthcare professionals sent a plea to Minister Tamara van Ark (Medical Care) to give the Dutch freedom of choice between physical care and digital care. Digital care is not desired for and by every patient, but every patient should be able to choose, according to the six letter writers. Van Ark expressed himself in a letter to Parliament about the scaling up of digital care early December proponent of 'digital where possible, physical where necessary'.