Why Telemedicine is the Future of the Healthcare Industry?

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a game-changer for the healthcare industry . Despite the havoc it has wrought to several working fields, it h...

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a game-changer for the healthcare industry. Despite the havoc it has wrought to several working fields, it has also brought about new opportunities for virtual care. The COVID-19 pandemic has been a game-changer for the healthcare industry in numerous aspects. Interestingly, despite the havoc it has wrought to several working fields, it has also brought about new opportunities for virtual care. Telemedicine has witnessed a boom during this crisis period, improving patient access to care while building new revenue streams for the providers. Virtual care then has evolved as the new face of healthcare.

McKinsey's report illustrates the massive rise in telemedicine adoption in recent times. Medical practices supporting telehealth have expanded their services considerably by deploying telemedicine. They have also reported an incredible 175 percent increase in the number of patients. This is undoubtedly a remarkable growth.

Several studies indicate the level of satisfaction that the patients associate with virtual care. According to a Massachusetts General Hospital study, 79 percent of the patients find virtual care more convenient in terms of scheduling an appointment. In comparison, 83 percent believe that the quality of telehealth services is better than in-person care. 66 percent of the patients felt more connected with their providers on a personal level.

Pandemic-Induced Telemedicine Growth

Before the onset of the pandemic, virtual care wasn’t that big a business. Only a handful of the providers were using video conferencing to see and treat their patients. However, COVID-19 pandemic forced healthcare practitioners to adapt to telemedicine platforms to deliver more and better-quality services. However, despite the increase in the adoption of telemedicine, many providers are still skeptical when it comes to telemedicine. The primary reasons behind this is the lack of technical training, the enormous infrastructural costs associated with the implementation, and the basic mindset to adopt innovative technologies.

However, these challenges are no way stopping telemedicine from growing into the new normal. Mc Kinsey estimates that a total of $250 billion worth of investment is foreseeable in the U.S. telemedicine sector.

Telemedicine is the Future of Healthcare

Providers and patients both are increasingly realizing the benefits of telemedicine. Telemedicine services is being widely acknowledged as the transformational force behind revamping the healthcare landscape. While patients with moderate conditions can be treated remotely at home, the hospitals and clinics can save up on space for critical patients. It is offering clinical support for surgeries as well as administrative tasks to eventually make the process of healthcare delivery seamless, more efficient, and more cost-effective.

However, to make virtual care a success, certain factors need to be accounted for:

• Providers should choose a telemedicine platform that facilitates a smooth transition for everyone at the practice, from the physician to the administrative staff.

• Integration is the key to successful implementation. If the telemedicine solution fails to integrate well with other systems in place or with the practice workflows, it is destined for disaster.

• The telemedicine platform should necessarily be integrated with an EHR to make efficiency changes at the practice. This will serve several benefits to the patients and providers, both; online appointment scheduling, electronic prescriptions, online medication refill requests, medication adherence, and so forth.

While this pandemic has highlighted the inherent loopholes in our healthcare system, it has also paved the path for the widescale adoption of telemedicine. What is imperative is that the policymakers, physicians, and patients all learn the right lessons from the crisis to improve virtual care. Telemedicine is a cornerstone of having an undefeatable medical system that can be instrumental in protecting us against another pandemic or the next wave of coronavirus itself.