Hacking the Future of Healthcare: Telehealth and Telemedicine

Telemedicine and Telehealth are the future of healthcare. Telemedicine encompasses remote clinical services, and telehealth is remote non-clinical services. Telehealth is a $20+ billion-dollar industry that’s expected to reach $186.5 billion in 2026.  18% of the U.S. GDP is healthcare-related.  90% of physicians have experience with remote treatment and 77% want a shift towards telehealth.  Not only does telehealth bring in revenue, but it also increases patient satisfaction and retention by 81.5%. 

Telemedicine is booming thanks to its many formats; video calls, mobile health, remote patient monitoring, texting services, and phone calls are a few of the wide array of telehealth platforms available.  Telehealth is less than 100 years old but is growing at an unbelievable rate.  In the first quarter of 2020 alone, 1,629,000 telehealth visits occurred.  During the pandemic, 69% of patients managed their concerns with telehealth guidance.

Telehealth has continued to thrive, even with many opposing barriers.

41% of patients have limited access to the internet, but this is currently being solved with Federal broadband initiatives.  Patient privacy was another concern, but consumers are growing more comfortable with private records in the cloud.  Studies show no significant difference between in-person and telehealth diagnoses, so concerns of misdiagnoses are less relevant. The majority of studies now show that patients prefer telehealth over in-person visits.

Telehealth has created new innovative solutions for holistic healthcare.  28% of consumers use tech to moderate their health; remote clinical tools can monitor blood pressure, administer anticoagulation testing, and contain ECG devices.  These impact the fields of cardiology, pulmonology, and endocrinology.  With new technologies like apps and smartphone gadgets, mail-in labs, and wearable technology, telehealth has continued to help those in need. 

Telehealth will continue to boom after the pandemic. 

COVID-19 spurred many to try telehealth for the first time, and now that they’ve tried it, most Americans want telehealth to continue.  82% of Americans say telehealth makes it easier to get the care they need.  Telehealth is convenient, allowing patients to stay at work rather than taking time off to commute to the doctor’s office.  It is less costly, and many feel less anxiety when seeing a doctor remotely. The future of medicine is just a few taps away.