By Bill Fera, MD
A shortage of physicians and expanded patient base are contributing to a telehealth surge, but three obstacles threaten to inhibitt the full value these services and technologies offer.
Telehealth services and technologies continue to gain ground. According to the American Telemedicine Association, more than half of all hospitals use some form of telehealth. More than 10 million Americans have directly benefited over the past year from a telehealth service — estimated to be double the use from just three years ago. And a recent study from business information provider IHS predicts the nation’s telehealth market will spike from $240 million in revenue last year to nearly $2 billion by 2018 — an annual growth rate of more than 50 percent.
The anticipated surge is due in part to the current physician shortage and an expanded patient base under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Central also to the move toward telehealth are efforts to put consumers at the center of their own health care – maximizing the power of technology innovations for virtual care, where patients can get the care they need where and when they need it.
Yet despite the progress, high investment costs and uncertain returns have created a tenuous economic model for digital expansion. Healthcare organizations also face three obstacles distinct to their industry: reimbursement limits, restrictions in physician licensing, and privacy and security challenges. Hurdling these obstacles can hasten the speed of the nation’s telehealth evolution — and unleash the full value these services and technologies offer.
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