Consumers in the technology age are ingrained with convenience and accessing information within seconds. So it’s only natural that those desires would eventually make its way into healthcare, which is where telemedicine has made its mark.
Not only does telemedicine provide that essential convenience for patients, but the benefits extend to medical providers as well:
Expand patient base
Telemedicine offers physicians the opportunity to reach people that otherwise wouldn’t have access for various reasons such as if the patient was in a rural area. They can expand their geographic footprint with little to no overhead.
Additional revenue streams
Increasing patient volumes means one thing for physicians – more revenue. Telemedicine is convenient, too, for both doctors and patients. So not only can doctors earn extra revenue but they could also do so from the comforts of their own home if they choose to do so.
Meaningful use attestations
Since government mandates like Meaningful Use have pushed more medical providers to utilize electronic means to deliver healthcare, options like telemedicine have also become more popular as they allow physicians to meet different requirements and obtain incentive payments.
Reduce cancellations
Telemedicine also can help lower the amount of cancellations and no-shows for physicians because of its convenience. If a patient can’t make it to the doctor’s office, the access to telemedicine give patients a viable option to still get treated without compromising other commitments.
These benefits aren’t lost on healthcare providers and organizations, either.
According to 2014 Telemedicine Survey Executive Summary, 84 percent healthcare executives believe the development of telemedicine is important to the development of their organizations. Telemedicine is also garnering attention from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as a tool for organizations to promote “health IT.”
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There’s no denying that telemedicine is in its infant stages. While trending in the right direction, 87 percent believe the majority of patients won’t utilize telemedicine until around three years from now.
However, healthcare technology and the evolving needs of patients are coming closer together than ever before. Additionally, health IT has drastically improved over the last few years and healthcare executives, as evidenced above, are in strong accord that telemedicine and technology has a significant impact on their organizations.
With these aspects, the growing presence of telemedicine in healthcare may be less of a possibly and more of an inevitability.