![$106 Billion in Health Care Spending Could Be Virtual by 2023. A patient talks to her doctor on her phone during a telehealth appointment.](/sites/default/files/2020-09/ms_092920_item2_virtual_visits__190_1691735.jpg)
![$106 Billion in Health Care Spending Could Be Virtual by 2023. A patient talks to her doctor on her phone during a telehealth appointment.](/sites/default/files/2020-09/ms_092920_item2_virtual_visits__190_1691735.jpg)
$106 Billion in Health Care Spending Could Be Virtual by 2023
The pandemic has fueled a huge spike in telehealth services this year and the growth is just beginning, according to the 2020 State of Telemedicine Report from Doximity, the nation’s largest physician network.
More than 20% of all medical visits in 2020 will be conducted virtually, representing $29.3 billion in services, according to the report. The authors predict that by 2023 as much as $106 billion of current U.S. health care spending could be on virtual services.
During the pandemic, the number of Americans reporting that they participated in at least one telehealth visit increased by 57%; for those with a chronic illness, the increase was 77%. As technology improves and more physicians, hospitals and health systems expand virtual services, researchers expect further telehealth growth.