{ "question": "What percentage of doctors use telemedicine?", "answer": "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.", "period": "2024", "key_numbers": [ { "value": "80.0%", "label": "Office-based US physicians using telemedicine", "note": "CDC NCHS, NEHRS 2024, down from 86.5% in 2021", "stat": "healthcare/physicians-telemedicine-use" }, { "value": "70.6%", "label": "Physicians in solo practice", "note": "CDC NCHS, NEHRS 2024, the lowest by practice size", "stat": "healthcare/solo-practice-telemedicine-use" }, { "value": "89.6%", "label": "Physicians in practices with 11 or more doctors", "note": "CDC NCHS, NEHRS 2024, down from 96.8% in 2021", "stat": "healthcare/large-practice-telemedicine-use" }, { "value": "60.9%", "label": "Physicians outside metro areas", "note": "CDC NCHS, NEHRS 2024, down from 83.3% in 2021", "stat": "healthcare/rural-physician-telemedicine-use" }, { "value": "60.1%", "label": "Surgical specialists, the lowest specialty group", "note": "CDC NCHS, NEHRS 2024, down from 74.8% in 2021" }, { "value": "37.0%", "label": "US adults who used telemedicine (video or phone) in the past 12 months", "note": "NCHS Data Brief 445, National Health Interview Survey 2021 (patients, not doctors)" } ], "tables": [ { "id": "by-practice-size", "title": "Office-based physicians using telemedicine, by practice size, 2021 and 2024", "columns": [ "Physicians in the practice", "2021", "2024", "95% CI 2024" ], "rows": [ [ "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%" ] ], "row_ids": [ "size-solo", "size-2-10", "size-11-plus", "size-all" ], "note": "Shares of physicians, not of practices. The fall for solo practice is not statistically significant; the others are.", "source": "nchs" }, { "id": "by-specialty-area", "title": "Office-based physicians using telemedicine, by specialty and area, 2021 and 2024", "columns": [ "Group", "2021", "2024", "95% CI 2024" ], "rows": [ [ "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%" ] ], "row_ids": [ "specialty-primary-care", "specialty-medical", "specialty-surgical", "area-metro", "area-non-metro" ], "note": "The medical-specialty change is not statistically significant. The non-metro estimate has a wide interval (small group).", "source": "nchs" }, { "id": "by-practice-type", "title": "Office-based physicians using telemedicine, by practice type, 2021 and 2024", "columns": [ "Group", "2021", "2024" ], "rows": [ [ "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%" ] ], "row_ids": [ "type-physician-owned", "type-other-owned", "type-medicaid-yes", "type-medicaid-no", "type-medicare-yes", "type-medicare-no", "type-certified-ehr" ], "note": "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.", "source": "nchs" }, { "id": "history", "title": "US office-based physicians using telemedicine, every NCHS estimate since 2019", "columns": [ "Year", "Physicians using telemedicine", "Estimate" ], "rows": [ [ "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" ] ], "note": "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%.", "source": "nchs" } ], "sources": [ { "name": "NCHS Health E-Stat 120, National Electronic Health Records Survey", "publisher": "CDC National Center for Health Statistics", "type": "official", "url": "https://www.cdc.gov/" } ], "content_changed_on": "2026-10-30", "page_url": "https://digitaltreed.com/statistics/healthcare/telemedicine-use", "csv_url": "https://digitaltreed.com/statistics/healthcare/telemedicine-use.csv" }