{"id":26202,"date":"2020-12-18T06:27:47","date_gmt":"2020-12-18T00:57:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drprem.com\/healthguide\/2020\/12\/18\/telemedicine-set-for-exponential-growth\/"},"modified":"2020-12-18T06:27:47","modified_gmt":"2020-12-18T00:57:47","slug":"telemedicine-set-for-exponential-growth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drprem.com\/healthguide\/telemedicine-set-for-exponential-growth\/","title":{"rendered":"Telemedicine set for exponential growth to be \u2018the future of healthcare\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Specific situations surge the demand for specific needs, and this is what we are witnessing with telemedicine<\/em><\/strong><\/a> in healthcare. The future of telemedicine is now! The good thing \u2013 it is gradually pervading the masses.\u00a0 More healthcare consumers will gain access to their medical data and use it for decision-making. Healthcare organizations, private and public will realign themselves to meet the growing demand. The process has already started with telemedicine or telehealth or telewellness services.<\/p>\n

A 2020 GSK report shows, 84% people in Spain, 77% in the UK, 75% in Italy, and 63% in Germany feel it important to take control of their health and take off the burden from the healthcare system. Modern consumers have adopted in managing many aspects of lives remotely through technology and are willing to do the same with their health.<\/p>\n

The result, No more crowding in consultation rooms. The future of healthcare is to go \u2018virtual\u2019 driven by telemedicine.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Present and future telemedicine market<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"Present<\/a><\/p>\n

Global telemedicine market is projected to reach $175.5bn in 2026 from $45.5bn in 2019 reports Statista.com. More than 50% of healthcare organizations in the US offer a telemedicine program. Over 50% of healthcare organizations claim telemedicine has improved quality care. Nearly 55% patients feel telemedicine has improved their healthcare decision-making capability. According to Mckinsey survey, a drastic shift in telemedicine from 11% to 76% has happened during the severe health crisis.<\/p>\n

In April 2020, the UK\u2019s Royal College of GPs reported of only 7% face-to-face patient consultations in comparison with 80% in 2019. Instead of stepping in a day care centre or clinic for consultation, consumers are comfortable filling e-forms for telehealth consultations. The UK government expects a majority of consultations to go online from 2021 courtesy advanced \u2018telemedicine\u2019 platforms. This may seem to be pandemic-induced impact but when the convenience factor will get more realized, virtual consultation would be the norm. The inclination towards telemedicine was felt in 2018 also in a survey by the Nuffield trust who found that 63% of the adults in UK would like to go for video consultation with their GP for minor ailments and 55% for managing chronic conditions.<\/p>\n

Although healthcare digitization has been quite slow since the last few years, but in times of dire needs for consultation, this sector witnessed a massive adoption in telemedicine creating unique virtual consultation features overnight.<\/p>\n

Shifting to proper digital platforms has multifarious benefits both from the patient and provider\u2019s perspective. Organizations already with strong digital teams are rising to the top as they could fast switchover to the newer market demands. Those facing tremendous financial losses and layoffs are gaining on their digital capacity.<\/p>\n

Telemedicine Forms<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"Asynchronous<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Typically, telemedicine has two forms:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Synchronous telemedicine: Both the patient and the physician are present at the same time through a real-time connection for direct one-to-one consultation.<\/li>\n
  2. Asynchronous telemedicine: Patient data is acquired and transmitted to the concerned healthcare professional or department for assessment at a convenient time offline.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Interesting facts and figures about the growth of Telemedicine<\/h2>\n

    The growth of\u00a0telemedicine<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0is unstoppable and the analysts expect this market to surpass $30 billion by 2020 [as reported by PwC]. Technology has helped telemedicine to overcome the geographical limitations in providing timely healthcare support irrespective of the patient\u2019s location. National Business Group of Health estimated that in 2017, 9 out of 10 big organizations are to provide telehealth services to the employees.<\/p>\n

    The trend is encouraging, given the problems that are continuously bugging the current global healthcare sector. Burgeoning aging population, rising global pandemics, long waiting times and most importantly the acute shortage of qualified and skilled healthcare professionals makes telemedicine an indispensable tool that will drive the future healthcare.<\/p>\n

    Recent surveys bring out interesting figures:<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    \"telemedicine<\/a><\/p>\n

    Telemedicine service that took off 40 years back has gained the confidence of the providers and users after decades of experimentation and trial projects. Today it is poised to change the global healthcare scenario.<\/p>\n

    The survey conducted this year by American Well, a telemedicine provider reports:<\/p>\n