In a guest post for Forbes, Skip Fleshman lays out the case that the future of telemedicine starts now. Calling telemedicine “the biggest trend in digital health in 2015”, he goes on to list the beneficial factors of the present market that will cause the boom in telehealth.
First and foremost, the abundance of technology in today’s world will make telemedicine infinitely more accessible. With the increase in faster, more reliable internet connections, online consultations are much smoother than they previously were. This along with mobile devices and tablets becoming pervasive, the level of convenience for patients is rising quickly.
The second reason supporting the incoming growth is the consumer demand to use this new technology for healthcare. The growing number of patients using retail pharmacies for routine visits can be logically extrapolated to patients using their devices for the same purpose.
Lastly, the switch towards telemedicine will not only save money on all fronts but also “increase the value of a doctor’s time.” By allowing patients who do not need immediate attention the ability to interact with their doctors outside of the physical office, it leaves more time and easier access for those patients who do need to meet face-to-face.
He leaves us with the analysis that although this case might lead us to believe younger patients would be the most interested in telemedicine, older consumers’ demands for telemedicine is increasing. “Dr. Steve Ommen, Associate Dean at the Center for Connected Care at the Mayo Clinic, expects older patients to be enthusiastic adopters,” he quotes, “‘The fastest-growing demographic for social media is the 60+ group. They are not technology-averse and they have the greatest mobility challenge in terms of getting to a doctor. A telemedicine solution may be exactly what they need.'”
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