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Interesting Telemedicine Statistics
Published January 2nd, 2019

Interesting Telemedicine Statistics

Both interest and investment in telemedicine are increasing. This interest seems to have not waned over telemedicine’s 40-year history. But in the past several years, telemedicine saw rapid growth both in volume and adoption rate. In fact, a majority of healthcare institutions in the country are either increasing their investment in telemedicine, improving existing telemedicine programs, or beginning to implement their own programs.

But would this growth continue in the near future? Will telemedicine continue to be relevant? These are important questions, especially if when newly investing in telemedicine. We compiled important and interesting facts and statistics that doctors, telemedicine providers, and even patients can use to determine the state of telemedicine and what’s in store for the future.

Telemedicine Adoption

  • About 65 percent of U.S. hospitals fully implemented at least one telemedicine program between 2016-2017. 13 percent are in the beginning stages of telemedicine implement while 12 percent are considering implementing a program but don’t currently have resources. Only 10 percent aren’t considering telemedicine at all. (aha.org)
  • Additionally, 53 percent of the hospitals have computerized remote patient monitoring system. 11.1 percent will implement their own system within this year while 17.9 percent don’t have resources and 18 percent aren’t considering implementing a system. (aha.org)
  • 36 percent of acute care settings have telemedicine programs that are older than 3 years. There is only 14 percent of these programs in primary care, and 4 percent in skilled nursing settings. The latter setting also has the most number of facilities that do not have telemedicine programs at 90 percent. (intouchhealth.com)
  • The adoption rate for inpatient care is 63 percent, 45 percent for outpatient, 30 percent for primary care, 22 percent for emergency services, and 10 percent for post-acute care. (intouchhealth.com)
  • 90 percent of healthcare executives say that their organizations either have a telemedicine program or that they are developing one (foley.com). 83 percent say that they are likely to invest in telemedicine. (thesource.americantelemed.org)
  • 21 percent of healthcare executives consider telemedicine as a top strategic priority. 30 percent say that telemedicine is a high priority while 36 percent say that it is only a medium priority. (intouchhealth.com)
  • 70 percent of employers either offer or plan to offer telehealth for their employees. (towerswatson.com)
  • 42.5 percent of health system clinicians use telemedicine to improve the weaknesses in care delivery. (fiercehealthcare.com)

Consumer Health Priorities

  • 65 percent of patients are willing to use telemedicine for a virtual visit with their primary care providers while more or less 50 million Americans are willing to switch primary care providers just to access virtual visit options. (americanwell.com)
  • 74 percent say that they are at least open to accessing virtual visits. (newsroom.cisco.com)
  • 76 percent of consumers prioritize easy access to care and treatment over the mode of interaction with their primary care provider. (aha.org)
  • 60 percent of millennials favor using telehealth as a replacement for in-person visits. (salesforce.com)
  • A majority of consumers don’t have concerns about the security of their patient data that are in cloud databases. (newsroom.cisco.com)

Telemedicine Market

  • Telemedicine has almost 25 percent share of the health technology market (prweb.com)
  • The expected value of telemedicine is around $19.5 billion by 2025 (healthcare-informatics.com)
  • The average number of users and the number of virtual visits per user increases together with the number of telemedicine products/services. (mobihealthnews.com)
  • There are now around 200 telemedicine networks and about 3,500 telemedicine sites in the US (americantelemed.org)
  • Global telemedicine networks are expected deliver services to around 7 million people around the world by 2018. (statista.com)

Telemedicine Use Cases and Outcomes

  • The top consumer virtual visit case uses are receiving results from oncologist (44 percent will definitely make or consider a virtual visit), pre-surgery appointment (40 percent), prescription question/refill (39 percent), ongoing care for chronic conditions (37 percent), and select post-op appointments (37 percent). (advisory.com)
  • The top specialty applications for telemedicine include stroke, psychiatry, neurology, radiology, and pediatrics. (intouchhealth.com)
  • 60 percent of elderly patients (aged 65 and up) are open to using telemedicine in managing a chronic condition. (healthcareitnews.com)
  • 52 percent of adult patients are open to post-surgical telemedicine visit (via video) (healthcareitnews.com)
  • According to a study by two professional organizations, about 75 percent of all doctor, ER, and urgent care visits are either unnecessary or risky for the patient. A considerable number of these visits can actually be handled safely and effectively via phone or video calls. (healthx.com)
  • A study revealed that there is no significant care quality difference between telemedicine and face-to-face visits (fruitstreet.com). The Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA) utilization of a post-cardiac arrest telemedicine care program even showed a 51 percent decrease in patient readmissions. (aha.org)
  • Applications in other settings also showed positive results. Utilization of Outpatient psychiatric telemedicine programs resulted in a significant decrease in ER wait times – from 48 hours to 22.5 hours. ICU telemedicine program also resulted in higher survival rates and shorter hospital stays. (aha.org)

Telemedicine Consumer Advantages

  • Telemedicine programs increase patient satisfaction by up to 99 percent. (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
  • Patients living in rural areas especially benefit from telemedicine programs. In the US, 20 percent of people living in rural areas don’t have direct access to healthcare. (aha.org)
  • Employers in the US that offering telemedicine to their employees can collectively save $6 billion annually. (towerswatson.com)
  • Hospitals, on the other hand, can save up to $87 per use of virtual visit instead of in-person ER and urgent care visit (acsh.org). Patients can also save around the same amount. In-person visits, on average, cost $125 while virtual visits only cost around $45. (usnews.com)
  • Telemedicine also shortens the average physician appointment wait time of 24 days. (merritthawkins.com)

Telemedicine Regulation and Coverage

  • Washington DC and 48 US states require insurance payers to cover telemedicine services. (ncsl.org)
  • 100 percent of Medicaid agencies cover select types of telemedicine programs (thesource.americantelemed.org)
  • Value-based care services require telemedicine for effective delivery. New healthcare payment models such as bundling had seen success but coverage and adoption are still limited even with waivers. (aha.org)
  • 39 percent of Medicare, 36 percent of Medicaid, and 34 percent of private payer reimbursement challenges are unaddressed. (intouchhealth.com)
  • Around 34 million people in the US still don’t have access to reliable broadband internet. 40 percent of these people are living in rural areas. (aha.org)

Tele-Optometry by DigitalOptometrics

DigitalOptometrics has developed and harnessed the advancements in technology in providing better eye care for their patients due to the need for more Optometrists to provide patients with optical exams. Tele-Optometry has developed the solution for this problem to help more patients have convenient access to comprehensive eye exams.

The process begins with the patient providing all the necessary information and medical history, gather patient’s eye data through a pre-testing exam, and analyzes the vision by testing the visual refraction that uses high-definition video conferencing technology with remote operated ophthalmic equipment by qualified Ophthalmic Technician. All of the patient’s data will be remotely reviewed by a licensed Optometrist, who will refine the corrective lens findings and further review the results of the optical exam, and answer to any questions and queries that the patient may have via video conferencing. After the completion of the exam, the patient will be issued with a new corrective prescription for glasses or contacts or will be referred to a specialist based on the findings of the Optometrist. The whole process will be completed in less than within 30 minutes.

To learn more about the advantages that you can receive from Tele-optometry by DigitalOptometrics, contact us at (877) 506-0002 or email info@Digitaloptometrics.com.

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