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Healthcare consumerism and the post-COVID telehealth shift
Healthcare consumerism, the trend of patients researching providers like they research any other purchase, accelerated permanently during COVID-19. Telehealth utilization rose from under 1% of outpatient visits pre-pandemic to a sustained 13-17% range from 2022 onward, and patient-shopping behavior shifted with it. Patients booking telehealth visits use review platforms more aggressively than in-person bookers because there is no physical clinic to evaluate; the provider's reviews are most of what they have to go on. This shows up most sharply in primary care, mental health, dermatology, and any practice that runs both modalities. For practices that built or expanded telehealth services post-2022, surfacing Vitals reviews on the booking page is no longer optional. It is how virtual-first patients make their choice, and it is the single highest-leverage placement for a review widget on a modern practice site.