The COVID pandemic has brought in a paradigm shift in all aspects of our lives. This black swan event has also prompted enterprises across the world to adopt new operating models. The task, which was unthinkable to be executed without a physical interface, is currently being delivered through digital means. Be it remote selling or consulting doctors from the safety of homes, digital interfaces have ruled the roost amid the pandemic.
In this perspective, the global telemedicine market has seen a significant boost in the present times. This is mostly driven by a host of factors. Firstly, while the COVID virus-infected patients made the healthcare system busy, patients suffering from other diseases were unintentionally neglected. Due to fear of getting infected, these patients were forced to stay at home. Therefore, the adoption of digital interfaces like teleconsultation saw many takers. Moreover, restrictions on movement during strict lockdowns to check the spread of the COVID pandemic made it difficult to travel physically for doctor consultation in many instances.
Against this backdrop, telemedicine as a segment under the eHealth ecosystem has seen rapid growth. According to global market research firm Fortune Business Insights, the global telemedicine market was pegged at $41.63 billion in 2019 and around $80 billion in the pandemic year of 2020. The market research firm predicts the global market size for telemedicine to touch $396 billion by 2027. The optimism stems from the fact that not only a growing number of patients are adopting the telemedicine route, the delivery of such services is also constantly improving through digital technologies including artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), internet of things (IoT), and data analytics among others.
For instance, teleconsultation apps powered by artificial intelligence today are user-friendly with simple interfaces that can be used across various operating systems across devices. These platforms also remember the patient’s history with past treatment records, making the consultation process easier.
Even Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) has emerged as the biggest growth spot in the telemedicine segment. Various wearable devices powered through IoT are transforming the way healthcare is delivered across the globe. IoT-powered solutions are enabling healthcare devices to be connected on a real-time basis. This provides doctors not only to monitor patients remotely but also to initiate intervention at critical moments. Digital technology is also taking care of the most important fear about a breach of patients’ privacy by devising a secured cloud environment- be it public or private. No wonder, hospitals, telemedicine providers, eHealth platforms, and even governments across the world are adopting digital-powered platforms and solutions to drive this digital transformation in the healthcare sector.
For instance, the Federal Communications Commission in the US has devised programmes to adopt telemedicine technology in healthcare institutions. In March 2020, the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) of India issued telemedicine practice guidelines. As the governments, enterprises, and society across the globe take note of technology in solving critical healthcare needs amid the COVID-19 outbreak, telemedicine as a segment is all set to grow manifold in coming years. The only words of caution are security and privacy, which should be maintained at any cost to sustain the momentum.