This year may mark an inflection point in the adoption of telemedicine, thanks to advances in technology and telecommunication infrastructure and the continuing pressure to cut medical costs and improve care.
That’s according to a raft of new surveys that highlight the momentum and outline challenges, while also examining how telemedicine fits into the Triple Aim of better patient care that bolsters population health while reducing costs.
“As eVisits are proven and adopted in the developed world, and as the necessary infrastructure is deployed in the developing world, they are likely to offer affordable primary and diagnostic care to very large populations that do not have access today,” according to a report by the consulting firm Deloitte. “Although the initial benefits of eVisits may be saving billions of dollars, over time the greater good may come from saving tens of millions of lives.”
Deloitte expects approximately 100 million electronic provider visits will be conducted worldwide in 2014, a 400 percent increase from 2012. The report predicted these telehealth visits could save more than $5 billion compared with the cost of in-person visits. The total available market for e-Visits in developed countries is estimated to be between $50 billion and $60 billion, Deloitte said.
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While the common belief is that eVisits are mostly patient-physician interactions via videoconference, in fact the majority involve the electronic capture of patient data. For example, patients may complete an online form, receive a diagnosis and, if required, a prescription (though patients with more complicated conditions likely will still need to meet with a physician in person).
Telemedicine is already gathering momentum on several fronts. The results of new HIMSS Analytics research found that almost half of healthcare organizations surveyed use some form of telehealth technology.
“Organizations continue to strive toward a value-based rather than volume-based care model, and many telemedicine technologies can aid in that transition,” said HIMSS Analytics research director Brendan FitzGerald in a statement.
Two-way video is the most widely used telemedicine solution (57.8 percent) and most frequently considered (67.1 percent) for those making a telemedicine investment, the report found.
To many providers, the long-term potential of increasing eVisits with telemedicine services and technologies is to advance the triple aim.
Examining the integration of telehealth with the objectives of national health reform of improved quality, improved health outcomes and reduced costs, the Center for Connected Health Policy (CCHP) has presented a report titled "Telehealth and the Triple Aim.”
Mario Gutierrez, the CCHP’s executive director, said the study found that altering the public- and private-sector policy environment alone will not be enough to affect widespread adoption of telehealth care.
“By examining the ‘paths to maturity’ of two well-established specialties, teledermatology and telemental health, it became clear that having a solid base of credible evidence and improving financing and reimbursement are important key drivers of telehealth adoption,” he wrote on iHealthBeat.org.
“These coupled with the ‘on the ground’ drivers of consumer demand, provider leadership and commitment and rapid advances in technology comprise the six critical drivers that together must be understood and mobilized to achieve the optimal integration of telehealth practices into the healthcare delivery at scale.”
Gutierrez said telehealth development should alleviate concerns that disadvantaged populations might be left behind in receiving healthcare.
“As the benefits and convenience of telehealth care become more widely known, telehealth leaders should find ways to harness the power of consumers and consumer advocacy organizations to incent healthcare transformation and expanded access to telehealth care,” he wrote. “Federal subsidies for connectivity need to be continued to ensure the expansion of telehealth to the underserved, both rural and urban.”
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