Increased Pressure on Healthcare Providers in the US to Adopt Telehealth

Young digitally-connected patients in the US are pressuring local healthcare providers to adopt telehealth solutions.

To address this, an international IT solutions and managed services provider has identified a three-stage model in the adoption of the telehealth model by healthcare providers.

According to experts at Logicalis Healthcare Solutions, the healthcare-focused arm of Logicalis US, the first stage is an ad-hoc solution; stage two includes a rationalized, departmental telehealth strategy, while stage three is a clinically integrated telehealth solution. Stage three includes advanced data exchange between healthcare providers, patients, laboratories, pharmacies and family caregivers.

Telehealth is already being used regularly in the US by 30 service lines, including radiology, neurology, and stroke care, dermatology, and behavioral health. The service lines fall into four basic telehealth categories. The first category, Synchronous telehealth, includes live, bidirectional, video-based interactions between patients and providers. The second category, Store and Forward, includes transmission of images, clinical results, education, training, and patient portals. The third category, Remote Monitoring, includes the collection of data about vital signs and health progress from chronically ill patients living at home. In the final category, Mobile Health/Wellness, care is supported by mobile devices, and promotes healthy behaviors, sends alerts and reminders, and allows remote case management such as monitoring of vital signs, advice for healthy lifestyles, and other assistance.

Ed Simcox, Healthcare practice leader, Logicalis Healthcare Solutions, said, "In the not-too-distant future, telehealth will be such an integral part of the medical experience that there will be no difference between healthcare and telehealth; telehealth will be healthcare. The tipping point, which Logicalis believes will come within the next four years, will be that point in time when more patients are using telehealth than visiting face to face with their doctors. Today's digital natives expect to interact online with service providers—including their physicians—with the same convenience they experience ride-sharing via Uber or booking a vacation room via Airbnb. To remain relevant, healthcare providers must capitalize on these expectations by providing fully integrated telehealth solutions. Those providers that haven't begun catering to the younger patient demographic using telehealth are already falling behind."

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