Telemedicine Use Among Adults: United States, 2021

Telemedicine is a way for health care providers to deliver clinical health care to patients remotely through a computer or telephone, without an in-person office visit. The demonstrated benefits of telemedicine include improved access to care, convenience, and slowing the spread of infection. During the COVID-19 pandemic, legislation expanded coverage for telemedicine healthcare services. Key findings from this research include the following: 

• In 2021, 37.0% of adults used telemedicine in the past 12 months.
• Telemedicine use increased with age and was higher among women (42.0%) compared with men (31.7%).
• Non-Hispanic White (39.2%) and non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native (40.6%) adults were more likely to use telemedicine compared with Hispanic (32.8%), non-Hispanic Black (33.1%), and non-Hispanic Asian (33.0%) adults.
• The percentage of adults who used telemedicine increased with education level and varied by family income.
• The percentage of adults who used telemedicine varied by region and decreased with decreasing urbanization level.

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