What would you do if the phone rang and it was your doctor? Could happen. A recent study shows that seven percent of U.S. physicians use online video conferencing to communicate with their patients.

The survey, the new Taking the Pulse U.S. v11.0, studied physician digital adoption trends.   Conducted by pharmaceutical and healthcare market research company Manhattan Research, this year’s study of 2,041 U.S. practicing physicians includes a focus on how physicians are using technology in the practice, such as for electronic health records, electronic prescribing and interaction with patients.

As video chatting becomes more common, this type of communication is emerging as a way for physicians to consult with patients about non-urgent issues, such as follow-up questions from an office visit, or to connect with geographically dispersed patient populations that may not have nearby access to specialists. The study also found that certain specialties, such as psychiatrists and oncologists, are more likely to be using video conferencing with patients.

The U.S. healthcare industry, under pressure to get a handle on costs, is embracing telepresence as a means of reducing expenditure, according to AT&T.

The resulting cuts in travel costs, and more productive collaboration among medical professionals, are just two of the factors driving increasing demand for telepresence in the health sector, making it more popular than most remote diagnostic applications.

The technology can also help reduce expensive patient transfers, provide health care to rural areas, schools, prisons and offer real time clinical trials. It can also be of great benefit in the education and training of medical professionals.

“Telemedicine has the potential to open up consultations with top specialists, regardless of your location,” said Meredith Ressi, Manhattan Research President. “Combined with the impending shortage of primary care physicians, the implications of these technologies for how healthcare is delivered in our country are remarkable.”

However, the study found that physician concerns regarding reimbursement, liability and HIPAA are still major barriers to communicating online with patients. Some of these issues are starting to be addressed as telemedicine solution providers such as American Well partner with insurance companies to facilitate payment and increase their security measures, the study showed.

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