Telemedicine is also making a difference in rural and remote areas, connecting patients with doctors and providing them with access to the care and expertise that they cannot get where they live. Virtual Care Centers are springing up across the country, improving not only patient access to expert care but also the ability for patients to be monitored and cared for.
The use of telemedicine is expected to continue to increase over the next few years, with more doctors and medical facilities embracing the new technologies and implementing programs to serve their communities. According to a recent article published in the Wall Street Journal, telemedicine is more than living up to its potential.
Origins of Telemedicine
The basics of telemedicine were born as the United States began shaping its space program. Starting in the 1950s, scientists were creating the technologies to monitor health in patients at long distances, a necessity for the newly formed space agency, NASA. With the goals of putting men into space and on the moon, the need to keep track of any changes in their health status while they were above the earth and beyond had to be met with the latest computer and satellite technology.
NASA was not the only organization benefitting from telemedicine technology. In the 1960s, medical facilities were experimenting with two-way communications systems, allowing physicians to consult with each other even if their facilities were hundreds of miles apart. In the 1970s, telemedicine began bringing the expertise of urban doctors to remote locations throughout the US, and in the 1980s it went global. Today, telemedicine is providing healthcare to individuals and families all over the world, with relief organization and groups such as Doctors Without Borders utilizing the technology to monitor and treat patients, and save thousands of lives.
“Obamacare” and the Rebirth of Telemedicine
One of the reasons for the surge in telemedicine usage involves the many changes that occurred in the years following passage of the Affordable Care Act. A shortage of doctors and changes to the payment system for providers are just two of the reasons that the revenue of telemedicine continues to grow, and it’s expected to pass $1.9 billion by 2018.
Why this trend? The Affordable Care Act raised accountability among doctors and hospitals by moving them away from the old fee-for-service type of medicine they had been practicing. Under the ACA, doctors take a role similar to a football quarterback, leading a team of nurses and allied health professionals as they go about delivering higher-quality care. Rather than focusing on the volume of patients being treated, this new way of practicing medicine is geared toward keeping people out of the hospital, where the cost of care becomes so much more expensive.
The Good, the Bad, and the Virtual
Despite its success and popularity, telemedicine does have its critics, who express concern over issues of quality of care and regulation. Among the fastest-growing services in telemedicine are those which connect patients with medical professionals they have never met face-to-face. These one-time “visits”, whether done by email, phone, or video, are available on-demand, 24/ 7, and are usually used for nonemergency issues.
Health insurance providers and employers have been quick to offer these services as a part of their health plans, with nearly 75% of the major companies in the US offering virtual doctor visits as a part of their health plans this year.
Critics of the programs are concerned, however, that the convenience of the services could potentially compromise the quality of care. They point to the possibility that these random kinds of visits will fragment the health care system even more, and that the lack of thorough hands-on evaluation by a doctor could lead to more patients suffer from complications and facing more serious health problems.
Though health care providers have been more than willing to embrace virtual technology, insurers have not been so ready to pay for the services when doctors use them with existing patients. Physicians and specialists have expressed their concerns, saying that it is tough to get paid unless they physically see the patient. Some states are implementing laws to require private insurance companies to reimburse doctors for remote services if those same services would be paid for when delivered in person. There is also bipartisan support in Congress for bills that expand the coverage of Medicare and Medicaid when it comes to telemedicine services.
State-to-state regulation is also an issue that complicates the use of telemedicine. Right now, doctors must have a license to practice in a particular state to be consulted via telemedicine in that state. This also means that patients seeking consultations are limited to the physicians who can practice in their state.
Seventeen states have begun the process that will allow doctors who are licensed in one state to more quickly obtain licensure in another state, though many proponents of telemedicine would prefer states to just honor the licensure of a doctor across state lines, as the states currently do with drivers’ licenses.
The future of telemedicine is assuredly bright as the technology continues to shake up the traditional structure of the health care system, opening it up for patients and medical professionals alike. As medical facilities and doctors implement new telemedicine technologies to monitor and consult with patients, many of the major health insurers are also beginning to offer virtual health care services. Major teaching hospitals across the country, including Johns Hopkins and Stanford, are providing remote consultation services. American Well, one of the major software providers for telemedicine programs in hospitals, is creating a marketplace for telemedicine, a “one-stop shop” for patients to browse the top branded telemedicine programs offered by the top hospitals.
State borders are also being overcome, with world-renowned hospitals such as the Cleveland Clinic creating virtual clinics that will allow patients to access physicians without having to go to the primary location in Ohio. Collaborations with local pharmacies, clinics, labs and imaging centers will also provide in-person exams as needed.
Conclusion
Telemedicine is no longer the wave of the future, but the wave of right now. As these innovative technologies emerge and the approach to practicing medicine changes, patients, and medical professionals will have to adapt. The advantages of this adaptation, however, are many. Though there will be challenges along the way, telemedicine’s potential is being realized more and more each day.
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