What Does Telemedicine's Foreseeable Future Entail?

Overview

Technology allowed us to access high-quality human services, such as healthcare, from a distance even while safety limitations were in place during the COVID pandemic. In a post-COVID environment, the majority of Americans are likely to continue using online healthcare services, so telehealth's future is still changing.

When we think of telehealth, many of us picture a patient talking to a doctor on a screen. Additionally, while remote consultations are undoubtedly essential, they are merely the tip of the iceberg. The use of telehealth increased by more than 154% in late March 2020 compared to the same period in 2019, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Furthermore, according to current projections by Fortune Business Insight, the market will reach over $397 billion by 2027. The industry's value in 2019 was only $42 billion, which highlights the epidemic’s impact on the sector. Even while telehealth usage has decreased over time since the pandemic's peak, it is now obvious that it will play a crucial role in the way that healthcare is delivered in the future.

Because it was necessary to foster social isolation in a secure setting, telehealth has also facilitated the shift to consumer-centric care paradigms. It reinvented virtual visits and developed as a crucial tool for communication and care during the pandemic.

So How Does it Function?

To facilitate sessions between the patient and the provider with a wider range of clinical and workflow operations, remote monitoring, and multiple providers throughout time, telehealth entails the use of communication systems and networks. Even if they both complement one another, there is still a difference between telehealth and telemedicine. While telehealth is a broader platform that covers telemedicine as well as other remote non-clinical services, telemedicine generally refers to the remote delivery of medical or clinical services.

Without considering how much has already changed, it is impossible to truly consider the future of telemedicine. For instance, we didn't have the technology necessary to operate the way Candid does today just three or four years ago. The environment has fundamentally changed as a result of developments in 3D printing and changes to governmental regulatory policies. Even a piece of technology that we take for granted, the smartphone, has significantly changed how we do business. Patients can now capture diagnostic images at home and immediately send them to our linked orthodontists instead of needing a separate digital camera or SIM card. Apple and Samsung, thank you. Even more intriguing is the telemedicine of the future. More technology and solutions are being developed, enabling individuals to receive diagnosis and treatment more quickly and conveniently than ever before. From iPhone apps, artificial intelligence and machine learning models assist in diagnosing skin cancer. People can self-examine for colon cancer with the use of Cologuard.

Both at Home and in the Hospital, Telehealth

1. Real-time observation and evaluation: Direct-to-consumer diagnostic medical devices can be worn as jewelry, clothing, watches, or even pieces of furniture, transforming commonplace items into systems that assist healthcare. These gadgets will record, handle, and perform in-the-moment analysis of patient data.
2. Houses are transformed into hospitals: Imagine waking up in the future and seeing a customized dashboard with a report on the health of every member of your family. A virtual health coach will be able to provide deep-state relaxation experiences using VR gear like goggles and haptic suits whenever a rise in stress is noticed.

The goal of telehealth in the future is to transform us from passive patients into active participants in our emotional, physical, and mental well-being, not merely through technology. A continuous process of unobtrusive, undetectable monitoring will enable us to identify problems in real time and make the required corrections to get back on the path to health and fulfillment through the use of high-speed internet and telehealth.

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