Full COVID-19 Teletherapy Survey Results
This post presents the full results of the COVID-19 Teletherapy Survey, including data for all the telehealth platforms reviewed by survey participants, even those that received only a single survey. For detailed analysis of the survey data, focused on platforms that received multiple reviews, read the post titled What is the Best Telemedicine Platform for Therapy? Here’s What Our Survey Says.
Evaluated Platforms
Here are the platforms included in this evaluation of survey results, separating the free and paid versions of platforms where both exist:
- Carepaths/Paid
- Doxy.me/Free
- Doxy.me/Paid
- Duo/Free
- FaceTime /Free
- Google Meet/Free
- Microsoft Teams/Free
- Microsoft Teams/Paid
- SimplePractice/Paid
- Spruce/Paid
- thera-LINK/Paid
- VA Video Connect/Free
- VSee/Paid
- WebEx/Free
- Zoom/Free
- Zoom/Paid
Survey Participants
The 46 survey participants are all from the United States and practice in eight different states, representing a diverse range of professional licensure, as shown in Chart A.
Reliability
Survey Question Asked
How reliable has this telehealth platform been in terms of availability and stability when you try to use it? Use a 5-point scale where 1 is not reliable at all, and 5 is always completely reliable.
Average Audio-Video Quality
Survey Question Asked
How would you rate the average audio and video quality of this telehealth platform when you use it? Use a 5-point scale where 1 is always poor audio and video quality, and 5 is always great audio video quality.
Ease of Use for Clinicians, Clients
Survey Question Asked
How easy is the telehealth platform for you, as a clinician, to set up and use? Use a 5-point scale where 1 is very difficult to set up and use, and 5 is very easy to set up and use.
Survey Question Asked
How easy do you think the telehealth platform is for your clients to set up and use? Use a 5-point scale where 1 is very difficult to set up and use, and 5 is very easy to set up and use.
Platform Features
Survey Question Asked
How would you rate the features provided by this telehealth platform? (Client/clinician login, text chat, screen sharing, video background effects, file sharing, device management, etc.) Use a 5-point scale where 1 is a limited and poorly-designed feature set, and 5 is robust and well-designed feature set.
Overall/Combined Score
Combining all the scores for the five individual categories produces a highest possible overall score of 25.
What Clinicians Liked About Platforms
Survey Question Asked
What do you like best about this telehealth platform based on your experience using it?
| Platform/Model | Please share any other comments you have about this telehealth platform? |
|---|---|
| Doxy.me/Free | A lot of kids and teens have not made the switch to Telehealth. They aren't comfortable with it or like it. |
| Free and easy to use, but lacks stability and quality | |
| I keep it as a backup, just in case MS Teams is having problems, which rarely happens. | |
| Nice design. Actually prefer the layout to Zoom - would have used it if cost was same or even slightly more than Zoom. | |
| Google Meet/Free | I downloaded grid chrome extension which helped w the visual |
| Microsoft Teams/Paid | I like using it without making the client a "team" |
| Overall this is a great telehealth platform. | |
| Sometimes the calls or meetings will show up on my phone and not my computer/tablet. | |
| SimplePractice/Paid | Easy to access |
| I already was using Simple Practice so it was very easy for me to and on the telehealth feature and go | |
| I think it is 100% worth the money. Great customer service as well. | |
| much better than therapy appointment's was | |
| The cost listed ($10) is in addition to regular monthly subscription for Simple Practice | |
| Zoom/Free | Use only when clients can’t use my platform |
| Zoom/Paid | See above. Would also like a personal waiting room link that was personalized (like Doxy) instead of a link with numbers. |
| That my settings can be controlled by my agency the way they set it up. They changed in the middle of the COVID19 pandemic, as we went back to Seven Counties. | |
| Zoom has also been difficult to contact during this epidemic. |
What Clinicians Disliked about Platforms
Survey Question Asked
What do you most dislike about this telehealth platform based on your experience using it?
| Platform/Model | What do you most dislike about this telehealth platform based on your experience using it? |
|---|---|
| Carepaths/Paid | No screen sharing option |
| Doxy.me/Free | Bad connections |
| Clients often say I appear pixelated for periods | |
| Could not handle the amount of people using it and server crashed. | |
| Delays and disconnect | |
| Free version froze/was unreliable often. Costs $35. Zoom was cheaper. | |
| frequent "lagging" audio and frozen video | |
| I attempted to use with two clients and both were unable to navigate and set up to use for our session | |
| It is exhausting. When working with kids, 50 min. on Telehealth feels like an hour and a half or maybe longer compared to in office. It just isn't even close to being the same. | |
| It is unreliable if you can see or hear on it. | |
| It's unreliable and feature poor, because I'm using the free version. | |
| limited application...confusing interface...upgrade cost is mine instead of companies. | |
| Poor audio & video, no screen or file sharing with free version | |
| reliability. often we need to close it out and re open. sound in and out. video in and out. | |
| Video quality would likely be clearer with a paid version, which I may look into over time if quarantine continues, but I am grateful for this option. | |
| Doxy.me/Paid | Image is flat. FaceTime has a better image. |
| no white board option | |
| Unstable connections | |
| Duo/Free | Nothing |
| FaceTime /Free | Concern for confidentiality |
| Google Meet/Free | Client has to have gmail |
| No waiting room, not super secure | |
| Microsoft Teams/Free | confusing |
| I don’t like that I can’t the share screen option in Microsoft teams, I feel Zoom is easier with this manner. | |
| Set-up | |
| Microsoft Teams/Paid | Can be a little complicated to set up for users due to requirement of Microsoft.com account. Not designed specifically for telehealth, which means it can require a little creativity by clinicians and explanation for clients. |
| if clients have another MS account it can present difficulties. | |
| Limitations based on the technology platform I am using. | |
| Set-up could be better streamlined for clients. | |
| SimplePractice/Paid | Clt has to down load an application. Some of my clients have difficulty with this. |
| Connectivity issues, particularly freezing screen and lagging sound | |
| I wish I could move my image in the video chat- like where it lands on the screen. Also, some issues with connection when the client uses their phone on WiFi. | |
| No chat box to communicate if there is an audio or video issue | |
| Not many extra features | |
| there have been a few sound issues | |
| Wish there was a waiting area for the client to hang out in that was like cute and peaceful or something other than a photo | |
| Spruce/Paid | client has to download an app. |
| thera-LINK/Paid | difficulty logging in the first time |
| Sometimes we lose image but rarely sound | |
| VA Video Connect/Free | Nothing |
| VSee/Paid | Rural patients or those who have to use wifi on their phones are often pixelated, audio and video are not synced, or the video feed is lost/frozen. The doorbell sound that rings to let you know a patient has entered the waiting room is annoying and nobody knows how to turn it off (as a function) while maintaining audio for the call you are on. |
| Unreliable especially in high data demand times | |
| WebEx/Free | Unclear when the upgraded features for free accounts will be turned off (they just pulled some without notice over the weekend). Difficulty getting bluetooth headset to work properly (syncs with speaker setting or microphone but difficult to get both working simultaneously). |
| Zoom/Free | buffering, freezing, sporadic video or audio drops |
| It seemed good | |
| Looks of page | |
| No hipaa compliant | |
| Nothing really comes to mind | |
| Poor quality and less features. | |
| sometimes glitchy | |
| The audio connects separate. | |
| The quality of the client's internet alters it's function dramatically but I would think this would apply to any platform | |
| Zoom/Paid | Adequate but not as effective as working in person. |
| Blurry sometimes | |
| cost for BAA agreement to make it HIPPA compliant | |
| Freezing up. | |
| Glitchy and poor connection at times (may just be the internet connection and not related to zoom platform) | |
| Harder to set up and explain to clients | |
| It is still telehealth...not real face t face connection | |
| My populations struggle with it, which heavily effects attendance | |
| N/a | |
| Not many features that I use | |
| Setup for client and scheduling meetings not as easy as Doxy | |
| Some poor sound/video | |
| Wish the invite feature would allow me to text clients to join meeting. Video background feature doesn't work well. |
Other Comments
Survey Question Asked
Please share any other comments you have about this telehealth platform?
| Platform/Payment Model | What do you like best about this telehealth platform based on your experience using it? |
|---|---|
| Carepaths/Paid | Quality is great,no delays or clitches |
| Doxy.me/Free | Did not use it enough. But liked that it was free. |
| Ease of set-up | |
| Easy access for clients | |
| Easy connection and design of site | |
| Easy to set up, free, same link each time | |
| Easy to use, free | |
| I liked the waiting room features, it seemed straight forward to set up and use | |
| It has been easy for my non English speaking clients to access - I just send a link and they only need to enter their first name. | |
| It is free and it has a chat capability | |
| It's been easy to use and thank goodness we have it. | |
| It's free and easy to use. | |
| Its Free. | |
| Very user-friendly and personalized link that I don't think required clients to download anything but not 100% sure about this. | |
| Waiting room | |
| Doxy.me/Paid | No additional downloads needed for self or client |
| No set up for clients. Just respond to the email. | |
| Simplicity of use | |
| Duo/Free | Nothing |
| FaceTime /Free | Ease in crisis |
| Google Meet/Free | Relatively easy to access, you can make your own code to enter room. |
| Works well with my google calendar | |
| Microsoft Teams/Free | Dependable |
| It’s fairly easy to assist the client to get set up with the plat form and I enjoy having the schedule option in Microsoft Teams to send the clt a link before our telehealth session. | |
| my private practice uses it and has a team | |
| Microsoft Teams/Paid | inexpensive |
| It works like a phone call with immediate response when it has been established. | |
| Stable and reliable | |
| Very reliable and stable compared to other platforms. Also feature rich and cheap because it's included in Office 365, which my office already subscribes to. | |
| SimplePractice/Paid | ease |
| Ease of use | |
| Ease of use within EHR | |
| Easy for both clinician and client to access | |
| Easy to use on both sides. Also same platform I use for record keeping, client info, billing, etc. so nice to have it all in one place. Also can be accessed with multiple types of devices which makes it easy for the client. | |
| It has individualized links for each client | |
| reliable, also I can go straight from my calendar to the televideo link | |
| Spruce/Paid | easy but I don't know any other platform so hard to compare |
| thera-LINK/Paid | Easy to schedule, you can share documents and collect co-pays |
| They require payment prior to having the session | |
| VA Video Connect/Free | Ease in login and scheduling |
| VSee/Paid | It works most of the time. When patients have good wifi or internet, the picture and audio are clear. |
| Video quality is good | |
| WebEx/Free | It's free. It's HIIPA compliant. For webinars, it offers a polling function. |
| Zoom/Free | Client ease |
| Easy to use | |
| Few video stalls, usually good sound quality and fairly easy to navigate once you figure out the audio connects separate. | |
| It’s pretty easy and user friendly. | |
| it's easy to use | |
| Quick set up time. | |
| Seem to be much more stable especially MS teams. Zoom is so easy to use | |
| Share screen | |
| simple to use, accessible, popular platform | |
| Zoom/Paid | Always a reliable connection |
| clear, mostly reliable service | |
| Common to many people | |
| Connectivity seemed slightly better than Simple Practice | |
| Ease of use | |
| Ease of use. | |
| Easy for the clients to use | |
| I can do group easily | |
| Quick | |
| Screen share to show videos and visual aids | |
| User friendly, screen share, whiteboard | |
| Waiting room feature, usually reliable sound and audio, iphone app works well | |
| Zoom doesn't crash, it sometimes freezes. |