Determining consumer preferences and experiences regarding telehealth and embedding the consumer into reimagining healthcare in Australia

Start Date

1 March 2021

End Date

2 February 2023

Project Participants

Australian Government Department of Health Disability and Ageing, Consumer Health Forum, Curtin University

Status: Completed

Tags: consumer engagement, digital transformation, health equity, health literacy, health policy, health service design, health system, healthcare access, patient experience, primary care, regional rural remote health, telehealth, virtual care

Opportunity 

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of telehealth across Australia, but little was known about how consumers experienced and valued virtual care. This project addressed a significant evidence gap by examining consumer preferences, experiences and expectations regarding telehealth and its future role within Australia’s healthcare system. 

Project Objectives  

This project focused on recognising the role of consumers in healthcare and drew on consumer and community experiences following exposure to new modes of healthcare delivery. 

The project sought to: 

  • Understand consumer experiences with telephone and video telehealth. 
  • Identify the circumstances under which telehealth is preferred. 
  • Quantify the importance of convenience, cost, clinician familiarity and other factors in healthcare decisions. 
  • Inform policy and healthcare system redesign through a consumer-centred lens.

Using qualitative consumer discussions and a national Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE), the project identified the factors that drive telehealth acceptance and use.  

Consumers generally welcomed telehealth and supported its ongoing availability as part of Australian healthcare. They reported benefits relating to convenience and access while highlighting important considerations around quality, continuity of care, communication, connectivity, and the need for face-to-face care in some situations.  The DCE demonstrated that while face-to-face care remained the preferred option overall, telehealth became highly attractive when it reduced travel burden, involved known clinicians, or lowered out-of-pocket costs. 

The project successfully delivered a comprehensive research report and presentations to key stakeholder groups, peer-reviewed publications to share and discuss findings, and also promoted and provided access to resources that support consumers to make informed healthcare delivery decisions. 

This project provided one of Australia’s most comprehensive consumer-centred examinations of telehealth during a period of rapid digital health transformation. The findings provided practical evidence to guide the integration of telehealth into Australian healthcare, supporting policy makers, health services and clinicians in designing telehealth models that are consumer-centred, equitable, cost-effective and appropriate to clinical context.  

The findings continue to inform discussions around value-based care, digital health adoption and health system reform. 

Integrity, Excellence,
Teamwork and Authenticity

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