Will Telehealth Save Healthcare?

Will Telehealth Save Healthcare?

 

Globally, telehealth is becoming a standard practice within the healthcare industry. In 2021, it reached a market size of $23.5 (USD) billion, and is expected to expand at an annual rate of 44% through 2028. Undoubtedly, it’s positively impacting our healthcare industry. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be growing such a significant amount.

Because of this, many people wonder, “will telehealth save the healthcare?”. It’s well-known that many industry specialists will be highly demanded in the future due to shortages. Therefore, how will telehealth impact this? Here’s what you need to know:

How does telehealth affect our healthcare system?

The most effective way of showcasing the positive effects of telehealth is by comparing our healthcare system with and without this practice included. To develop a better understanding of this, see the below table:

With telehealth:

• Patients can consult with a local physician via real-time with an e-visit without leaving their home
• Patients data is stored and consolidated on the cloud, making diagnostics capabilities optimal
• Predictive analytics are utilized that recommend treatment plans to a patient
• Prescribed medications are called to a local pharmacy and delivered to a patient’s home
• If local treatment isn’t available, patients can consult long-distance healthcare specialists without leaving their home
• Patients won’t need to pay for travel expenses unless necessary
• Patient’s can catch up with healthcare professionals through e-visits

 

Without telehealth:

• Patients are required to visit a hospital to consult with a physician, meaning they need to find transportation and be in physical contact with a physician
• Patients receive a diagnosis based on a singular physician’s assessment that might not be accurate
• Predictive analytics isn’t utilized, meaning patients will only receive local treatment options
• For patients to receive prescribed medications, they must visit a local pharmacy, resulting in transportation and human contact
• Predictive analytics isn’t utilized, meaning patients will only receive local treatment options
• For patients to receive prescribed medications, they must visit a local pharmacy, resulting in transportation and human contact
• If local treatment isn’t available, patients must travel to a healthcare facility that offers it
• Patients will be mandated to arrange transport to and from their treatments
• Patients will continuously be requested to travel back and forth to a hospital for treatments

 

As you can see, there are various benefits that telehealth will and currently is providing our healthcare system. Utilizing this can minimize human contact, travel expenses, and save a ton of wasted time, making healthcare more efficient.

Benefits of telehealth in our healthcare sector

Undeniably, telehealth can help many people whether they’re patients or providers. However, to overview and narrow down the above information, here are the primary advantages:

• Improve accessibly – There are only 39.8 physicians per 100,000 residents in most rural locations around the US. Therefore, may have to travel great distances to receive the care they need. However, telehealth can easily be contactable through a straightforward video meeting.

 

• Better efficiency – In addition, it’s been studied that the “average” telehealth meeting takes around 15 minutes. Considering the average in-person visit is 121 minutes (including travel time), it’s cutting around 106 minutes per visit.

 

• Enhance diagnostics – Data will now be stored on the cloud and within large data silos, making diagnostic capabilities more effective and accurate.

The benefits of telehealth are unbelievable, and it’ll be an ongoing medical practice until the foreseeable.

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