Remote medical assistance is by no means a new phenomenon. It has been around since the 1920s and was used to provide medical assistance in inaccessible areas. Over time, medical practitioners have adopted various technologies, including television and mobile phones, to provide accessible healthcare to rural areas. But that has changed post-Covid.

While city-dwellers used telehealth to tide over the in-person meeting restrictions brought on by the pandemic, they became accustomed to the convenience offered by the service over time. This is why the demand for telehealth services hasn’t dropped to zero in urban areas even post the pandemic. According to a 2022 poll, 38% of surveyors still use telehealth services.

Telehealth is here to stay. And as more people realise its potential, its demand is expected to grow. But as with any phenomenon, there are benefits and challenges of telehealth. What are they? Read on to find out.

Benefits of Telehealth

1. Easier Service Expansion

As a healthcare practitioner, you know how difficult it is to expand a medical practice. Whether you want to open a new clinic or consult at a speciality hospital, you will have to bear setup and travel costs. According to Doctorly, the average costs range from $70,000 to $1,00,000 and vary depending on the area and the speciality.

Thanks to telehealth technology, however, medical professionals like you can expand your service to more patients and new locations without any associated equipment, travel or setup costs. Instead, you can start simply with a basic telemedicine cart that includes height adjustment, microphones, high definition cameras and mounted monitors. The best part? You can build this setup into your existing practice with a fraction of the cost of setting up a traditional practice.

2. Better Assessment

Speciality practitioners, like allergy specialists, neurologists, occupational therapists, mental health practitioners, and more, can make better health assessments through telehealth technology. That’s because they can observe patients and their reactions to their surroundings in a natural habitat. But that’s not all. Telehealth technology makes accessing and updating past medical records easier. This means that health providers can make more accurate health diagnoses.

Thanks to advanced connected devices, medical professionals can also collect vital patient information like health statuses over a long period. This way, they can recognise any changes in health information that may be indicative of chronic illnesses and offer quicker medical help.

3. Convenience

Telehealth technology allows patients and healthcare providers to meet virtually for health checkups. This reduces the costs associated with travelling for both parties and ensures no missed appointments due to work or other commitments.

Additionally, doctors can rely on telehealth to screen patients for infectious diseases before inviting them for an in-person appointment during disease outbreaks. This reduces the spread of germs and promotes overall health for all parties.

Challenges of Telehealth

1. Regulatory Issues

Although telehealth technology allows you to connect with your patients virtually, no matter where they are, expanding your practice through telehealth may not be simple. That’s because different regions have different medical licence requirements. And to practise successfully, medical professionals must meet the licensing norms of their state and their patient’s state.

What’s more, today, medical professionals must pay heed to data privacy regulations and abide by them while setting up their telemedicine practice. That’s because their health databases often hold sensitive health information, which, when hacked into, can cause considerable harm to patients. This, in turn, could lead to a loss of trust and affect the practice’s success. In fact, even patients today are unwilling to share data across internet platforms unless they are assured of data privacy.

2. Technological Concerns

One of the main drawbacks of a telehealth-centric practice is that it relies on the proper functioning of technology on the patient’s and healthcare provider’s end. Therefore connection glitches, improper lighting, poor audio quality, and more can impact a diagnosis.

Additionally, if healthcare practitioners use complex telehealth systems, they will have to get accustomed to the technology before setting up their practice. Older patients will also need to learn how to use telehealth technology well to ensure they get a proper diagnosis.

3. Diagnosis Issues

Not all doctor visits can be substituted by telemedicine. For instance, bloodwork, scan, X-rays, and other procedures will still require a doctor’s visit. This is because some diagnoses do not translate well virtually, and others require hands-on medical procedures.

4. Marketing Expenses

Unlike traditional practices that survive on word-of-mouth referrals and on trust, a telehealth practice needs marketing to grow. Healthcare practitioners will have to dedicate a separate marketing budget towards different online marketing channels like email, social media, and SEO to get discovered and nurturing campaigns to continue building trust with their patients.

Many healthcare companies offering telehealth services rely on data providers like Health Care Marketers to provide accurate customer data to drive their marketing campaigns.

Over to You

The telehealth market was valued at USD 83.5 billion as of 2022 and it projected to grow at a CAGR of 24% between 2023 and 2030. The phenomenon will revolutionize how healthcare providers and patients approach health and will supplement traditional healthcare. Safe to say, if you’re a healthcare provider considering starting a telehealth service, now is the time to get into it.