Telehealth: Remote healthcare might be here to stay

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  Quantumrun Foresight
• August 4, 2022

Insight summary

Telehealth, or telemedicine, gained momentum during the COVID-19 pandemic, transforming how healthcare is delivered by enabling remote medical care. However, challenges like uneven internet access and regulatory inconsistencies pose significant hurdles to telehealth's effectiveness. Addressing these issues through enhanced internet infrastructure, uniform regulations, and healthcare provider training is essential to fully harness telehealth's capabilities.

Telehealth context

The spread of COVID-19 facilitated the growth of telehealth during the early 2020s. According to Allied Market Research, the worldwide telemedicine industry generated USD $40 billion in 2020, which is expected to rise to USD $432 billion by 2030.

Telehealth, also known as telemedicine, is the use of technology to deliver medical care remotely, including providing care to patients in their homes or via video conferencing services. Telehealth has been proven effective in reducing the need for hospital visits, improving patient satisfaction, and lowering healthcare costs. According to the 2021 CHIME Digital Health Most Wired survey results, 26 percent of healthcare providers in the US reported that their patients used telehealth, including acute care, ambulatory care, and long-term or post-acute care facilities. This figure is slightly lower than 32 percent who said their patients used telehealth in 2020 but much higher than the mere 7 percent in 2019. 

Meanwhile, Medicare beneficiary telehealth visits in the US increased from approximately 840,000 in 2019 to nearly 52.7 million in 2020 (an increase of 63-fold), according to the US Assistant Secretary For Planning and Evaluation (ASPE). A key factor that supported this growth was the US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services encouraging people to access healthcare by reimbursing their telehealth visits even if they only had audio-based interactions instead of video-based ones. This accommodation was approved to ensure that people could still receive equal care regardless of their area’s Internet availability. 

Disruptive impact

Telehealth is particularly advantageous for patients who prefer receiving care at home, either due to negative hospital experiences or because they reside in remote locations. However, telehealth's effectiveness is significantly hampered by inadequate broadband internet access. A survey by the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) revealed that 39 percent of respondents faced challenges in providing telehealth services due to patients' poor internet connectivity.

The disparity in telehealth utilization between urban and rural areas is stark, as highlighted by research from the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE). Patients in urban areas are 50 percent more likely to use telehealth services compared to their rural counterparts, primarily due to better internet access. The lack of uniform regulations across states further complicates the telehealth landscape, creating uncertainty about coverage and payment responsibilities. Additionally, not all healthcare providers have fully embraced telehealth technology, including necessary cybersecurity measures to protect patient data.

Another significant challenge for telehealth is its limitations in accurately diagnosing and treating certain medical conditions remotely. This gap can lead to incorrect prescriptions or therapies. The necessity for physical examination or specific diagnostic tests that cannot be performed remotely hinders telehealth's capability in some healthcare scenarios. To fully realize telehealth's potential, addressing these obstacles through improved internet infrastructure, standardized regulations, technological adoption, and training for healthcare providers is crucial.

Implications of telehealth services

Wider implications of telehealth adoption may include: 

• More healthcare providers offering telehealth services and options, partnering with smaller clinics to expand their reach in remote areas.
• More physicians being trained for telehealth consultations, including interacting with patients onscreen and operating various apps and software. This training will also be integrated into medical school programs.
• Internet infrastructure, such as 5G deployment and near-Earth satellite Internet services, experiencing greater public and private investment to support the ever-growing telehealth industry, which requires reliable connections.
• Population-scale improvements in general health access, especially in rural communities and developing nations, where access to primary medical care can be more challenging. 
• Reductions in national healthcare costs in those countries that encourage telehealth adoption as populations can access proactive medical support to retain good health. 
• More countries adopting telehealth-related legislation that supports the adoption and interoperability of digital health records and protects patient health data.
• Healthcare startups creating ever more AI-based programs and software that can automate numerous healthcare tasks, such as processing patient information, customer service, and post-consultation care.

Questions to consider

• Have you used telehealth during the pandemic? If yes, what were the benefits and disadvantages you experienced?
• What new healthcare services would you like to see delivered or facilitated using online mediums?