Founded in April 1961, telemedicine was developed to remotely monitor the health of NASA astronauts. Now sixty years later, the practicality of such tech has never been more relevant in addressing the health needs of patients during a pandemic. With the majority of the world in quarantine, and hospitals being a hot spot for transmissions and contact, health safety was never more compromised. Living in isolation the world sought interaction virtually online. Leading to the great digital transformation known as DX in 2020. Facing this problem, a multitude of telehealth service companies sprung into popularity to adapt to the changing world of dematerialization, namely Teladoc, Amwell, MDLive.
Now in 2022, the world has moved past living in isolation. With covid posing less of a threat, the world now seeks a reopening. Moving back towards the in-person structure that was left behind two years ago. Although this is the case, society has adopted certain aspects of virtual life into the reopening with zoom meetings, remote work, and telehealth.
Telehealth, although still in its infancy, is continually being adopted and developed to accommodate the world’s healthcare needs. It addresses numerous structural problems in the healthcare market like physician shortages, accessibility, and rising cost of care. And according to past surveys, “74 percent of patients prioritize access to care over-in-person interactions with healthcare providers. And 70 percent said they were comfortable with communicating through email, text, or video, in lieu of an office visit.”
Similar to the urgent care model, focusing on ease of access as well as cost efficiency for minor injuries or checkups, can result in significant time saved for both patients and physicians. With the integration of these services within health care insurances through reimbursement, insurance companies, health care specialists, as well as patients will benefit from cost-plan efficiency. As of now, the industry has been implementing these changes to incentivize telehealth utilization among private insurance holders to avoid unnecessary health care expenses going to costly primary care or emergency care for minor injuries or checkups. Minuteclinic, a subsidiary of CVS now offers urgent care telehealth providing numerous services digitally 24/7 year round. These solutions also pose a solution to address the overcrowding of primary care, due to lack of physicians which also contributes to the rising cost of primary care.
Apart from efficiency in the healthcare industry, telehealth can also help address similar problems that exist in the mental health and health monitoring space. These specific services focus on addressing the rising stress and anxiety related health problems that are becoming more and more relevant. Health monitoring is virtual live assistance for people with chronic health problems that require ongoing medical attention. These two markets present significant opportunities for telehealth companies as they are both ripe for disruption as the world moves towards preference for convenience, affordability, and comfort.
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