The Next Chapter for Telemedicine: 3 Care Delivery Advancements & Challenges
Telemedicine Will Continue To Provide Patients And Providers With Improved Access, Quality And Affordability, But There Are Also Challenges.
Summary
The rapid evolution of telemedicine and telehealth has provided a new option for care delivery.
New care delivery models are needed to continue improving the value proposition.
However, to realize it’s full potential, challenges remain.
Background
The pandemic has produced a quick evolution of telehealth and telemedicine over a short period of time.
The telemedicine option of care has:
Favorable patient perceptions
Is in a positive regulatory environment
Fostered total venture capital investment which in the first half of 2021 totaled $14.7 billion. This exceeds the funding for all of 2020 at $14.6 billion and practically doubled the 2019 investment of $8.3 billion
Venture funding in first half of 2021 exceeds all of 2020
Review
3 CARE DELIVERY ADVANCEMENTS NECESSARY TO CONTINUE DRIVING THE VALUE PROPOSITION:
1. Increase patient’s convenience to receive routine care virtually.
a. Solutions combining e-Triage with virtual care visits to create a more continuous care delivery model.
b. Virtual health plans will continue to grow and evolve. These plans serve as the first entry point of obtaining medical care from a virtual primary care provider.
c. Expand care services delivered virtually.
Innovation in home diagnostics and equipment.
Better integration of virtual care and at home visits.
2. Improved access to care
a. Provide coverage to rural areas with shortages (i.e. behavioral health)
b. Extend specialty care to all areas with shortages. This applies to patients and provider to provider to improve the quality of care.
3. Improve care delivery models and health outcomes
a. Better integration of remote monitoring and digital therapeutics into virtual visits.
b. Move from fee for service to value based telemedicine models
c. Improve hospital at home and post-acute care at home models.
3 CHALLENGES TO ATTAIN THE NEXT CHAPTER
1. Improved data flow & Integration
a. Better alignment of the various devices as the rapid proliferation of solutions are confusing patients, providers and payers.
2. Optimal alignment of virtual and in-person care delivery activities into clinical workflow
a. Virtual visits cannot be in addition to in-person visits, but rather they should supplement each other.
3. Virtual health activity becoming value based care to improve patient outcomes and overall performance.
Conclusions
The potential exists to continue to improve access, quality and affordability via telemedicine.
The quarter trillion dollar economic opportunity is there, however, not without challenges.
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