By Aijaz Alam
What percentage of doctors use telemedicine?
80.0% of office-based US physicians used telemedicine for patient visits in 2024, according to the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics (National Electronic Health Records Survey, published June 2026). That is down from 86.5% in 2021. By practice size, use ranges from 70.6% of solo-practice physicians to 89.6% in practices with 11 or more, and is 60.9% outside metro areas.
- 80.0%Office-based US physicians using telemedicineCDC NCHS, NEHRS 2024, down from 86.5% in 2021
- 70.6%Physicians in solo practiceCDC NCHS, NEHRS 2024, the lowest by practice size
- 89.6%Physicians in practices with 11 or more doctorsCDC NCHS, NEHRS 2024, down from 96.8% in 2021
- 60.9%Physicians outside metro areasCDC NCHS, NEHRS 2024, down from 83.3% in 2021
- 60.1%Surgical specialists, the lowest specialty groupCDC NCHS, NEHRS 2024, down from 74.8% in 2021
- 37.0%US adults who used telemedicine (video or phone) in the past 12 monthsNCHS Data Brief 445, National Health Interview Survey 2021 (patients, not doctors)
The numbers
The full breakdown
Office-based physicians using telemedicine, by practice size, 2021 and 2024
| Physicians in the practice | 2021 | 2024 | 95% CI 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (solo practice) | 76.3% | 70.6% | 64.6% to 76.2% |
| 2 to 10 | 86.8% | 78.7% | 75.2% to 81.9% |
| 11 or more | 96.8% | 89.6% | 85.9% to 92.5% |
| All office-based physicians | 86.5% | 80.0% | 77.7% to 82.2% |
Shares of physicians, not of practices. The fall for solo practice is not statistically significant; the others are.
Office-based physicians using telemedicine, by specialty and area, 2021 and 2024
| Group | 2021 | 2024 | 95% CI 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary care | 91.4% | 86.2% | 82.6% to 89.3% |
| Medical specialty | 87.2% | 83.2% | 78.7% to 87.0% |
| Surgical specialty | 74.8% | 60.1% | 55.6% to 64.6% |
| Metro area (MSA) | 86.7% | 81.0% | 78.6% to 83.2% |
| Outside metro areas (non-MSA) | 83.3% | 60.9% | 47.8% to 72.9% |
The medical-specialty change is not statistically significant. The non-metro estimate has a wide interval (small group).
Office-based physicians using telemedicine, by practice type, 2021 and 2024
| Group | 2021 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Practice owned by a physician or physician group | 80.2% | 74.0% |
| Practice with other ownership (hospital, health system, other) | 96.6% | 87.9% |
| Treats patients with Medicaid | 88.1% | 80.7% |
| Does not treat patients with Medicaid | 81.4% | 76.3% |
| Treats patients with Medicare | 86.2% | 80.3% |
| Does not treat patients with Medicare | 88.7% | 77.2% |
| Uses a certified EHR system | 88.8% | 81.5% |
NCHS does not publish the figure for physicians without a certified EHR (below its reliability standard). The changes for physicians who do not treat Medicaid patients are not statistically significant.
Over time
US office-based physicians using telemedicine, every NCHS estimate since 2019
| Year | Physicians using telemedicine | Estimate |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 (QuickStats) | 15.4% | NCHS QuickStats in MMWR, 2022: video visits only |
| 2021 (QuickStats) | 85.9% | NCHS QuickStats in MMWR, 2022: video visits only; same year as the next row, older definition |
| 2021 (Health E-Stat 120) | 86.5% | NEHRS, Health E-Stat 120: any telemedicine, comparable with 2024 |
| 2024 (Health E-Stat 120) | 80.0% | NEHRS, Health E-Stat 120: any telemedicine |
There are two estimates for 2021, not two years. The QuickStats rows (2019 and 2021) are the earlier NCHS estimates that Health E-Stat 120 cites in its opening line; they counted audio with video and web videoconference only. Health E-Stat 120 counts any telemedicine (audio, audio with video or web videoconference) and gives 86.5% for 2021 on the same basis as 2024, so compare 86.5% with 80.0%.
Why sources differ
Same question, different answers
| Number | When | Who measured | Why it differs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 80.0% | 2024 | CDC NCHS, National Electronic Health Records Survey | Office-based physicians whose practice uses telemedicine for patient visits |
| 86.5% | 2021 | CDC NCHS, National Electronic Health Records Survey | Same survey at the pandemic peak; pages written before June 2026 still quote it |
| 15.4% | 2019 | CDC NCHS QuickStats (MMWR, 2022) | Before the pandemic; counted video visits only, so not like-for-like with 2024 |
| 37.0% | 2021 | NCHS Data Brief 445, National Health Interview Survey | Adults who used telemedicine (a video or phone appointment) in the past 12 months: patients, not doctors |
Most telemedicine numbers you will see come from the same federal agency but answer different questions. The 80.0% and 86.5% figures both come from the CDC's National Electronic Health Records Survey and ask whether a physician's practice uses telemedicine for patient visits, by audio, audio with video or web video. They are directly comparable, so the honest trend is a fall of 6.5 points from 2021 to 2024. The 15.4% for 2019 is an earlier NCHS QuickStats estimate from before the pandemic that counted only audio with video and web videoconference; it shows how fast use jumped but is not a like-for-like baseline. The 37.0% is a different population altogether: it is the share of US adults who had at least one video or phone appointment in the past year, from the National Health Interview Survey (NCHS Data Brief 445). A doctor counts as a user if the practice offers telemedicine at all, while a patient counts only if they actually had a visit, so the physician share will always be much higher than the patient share. When a page quotes a telehealth share without saying who was asked, check whether it means doctors, practices or patients, and which year.
What it means
How to use these numbers
Telemedicine has settled rather than disappeared. Four in five office-based doctors still offered it in 2024, but the pandemic peak is over and the fall is uneven. Surgical specialists dropped from 74.8% to 60.1%, while primary care is still at 86.2%. A follow-up or prescription check fits a video or phone visit more easily than a surgical assessment, which may explain part of the gap.
The biggest drop is outside metro areas, from 83.3% to 60.9%. The interval is wide because the group is small, but it makes physicians outside metro areas the group least likely to offer telemedicine, after surgeons.
Practice size and ownership matter as much as specialty. Physicians in solo or physician-owned practices are less likely to offer it (70.6% and 74.0%) than those in large or hospital-owned groups (89.6% and 87.9%), which tend to have more IT staff and scheduling systems to run it. For a small practice, offering video or phone visits is still a way to stand out locally.
Method and sources
How it was measured
Method
- Publisher
- CDC National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Health E-Stat 120 (physicians); NCHS Data Brief 445 (adults, National Health Interview Survey 2021)
- Sample
- National Electronic Health Records Survey: weighted estimates for 1,460 office-based physicians in 2024 and 1,875 in 2021; response rate 47.4% (2024) and 46.6% (2021).
- Definition
- A yes to: Does your practice use telemedicine technology (e.g., audio, audio with video, web videoconference) for patient visits? Non-office physicians in the 2024 survey are left out for comparability.
- Released
- June 2026
- Checked at source
- 31 October 2026, on cdc.gov (Health E-Stat 120 and NCHS Data Brief 445)
- Next release
- Not announced; NEHRS is not run every year
- Last changed
- 30 Oct 2026
- Data files
- CSV · JSON (stable links)
Sources
- NCHS Health E-Stat 120, National Electronic Health Records Survey, CDC National Center for Health Statistics Official data
Cite this page
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FAQ
More questions people ask
Is telemedicine use by doctors going down?
Yes, slowly. It fell from 86.5% of office-based US physicians in 2021 to 80.0% in 2024 in the same CDC survey. Surgical specialists and doctors outside metro areas fell the most.
Which doctors use telemedicine the most?
Primary care physicians (86.2% in 2024) and physicians in practices with 11 or more doctors (89.6%). Surgical specialists use it least, at 60.1%.
How many patients use telemedicine?
37.0% of US adults used telemedicine (a video or phone appointment) in the past 12 months in 2021, according to NCHS Data Brief 445 (National Health Interview Survey). Women (42.0%) used it more than men (31.7%).
Every number on this page was checked at its original source (CDC National Center for Health Statistics). Free to cite with a link to this page.