5 Encouraging Telemedicine Trends

FIVE ENCOURAGING TRENDS

June 20, 2016 by InTouch Health

In certain fields, things seem to continuously trend upwards. That’s true with smartphones, where device ownership increased 30% in just the last four years. It’s also true for the Golden State Warriors basketball team, which saw its win totals increase from 51 to 67 to a record-setting 73 over the past three seasons.

We can now add telehealth to that list, where usage has increased by an astonishing 50 percent since 2013. Nearly 15 million people used telehealth services last year.

The ATA recently identified five trends that are creating favorable tailwinds for our industry:

• More telehealth legislation – To date, 29 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws requiring commercial payers to cover telehealth. Eight more states are considering legislation this year.
• Employers jump on the bandwagon – Telehealth is rapidly gaining popularity with employers like Nissan and Google that offer onsite health clinics. By 2018, many of these companies will use telehealth.
• Older adults see the value of telehealth – People approaching Medicare age are quite comfortable with web surfing and smartphone apps. More than half of older adults say that “health information” is one of their primary reasons for digital engagement.
• App adoption has doubled in the last three years – In 2013, only 16 percent of Americans had a health app on their smartphone. Now that number has doubled to 32 percent.
• Medicaid is loosening distance requirements – 86 percent of states now cover Medicaid telehealth services statewide rather than imposing distance restrictions.

Many industries are envious of these positive trends. Fax machine manufacturers are no doubt having a lousy year. But things are definitely looking upbeat for the telehealth sector.