Telehealth Statistics: Unveiling Trends & Forecast
Telehealth has helped the healthcare industry to work more efficiently and provide better care. Its usage has also significantly increased over the past few years, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. Telehealth statistics have shown that physical visits to clinics or hospitals have reduced, giving a boost to the latest trend in the healthcare industry.
Telecommunication technologies have helped the industry to improve its quality and streamline most of the things. Moving away from the traditional practices in the healthcare sector, some experts, healthcare software development companies, and even entrepreneurs are embracing the growth spectrum of the telehealth industry.
In this blog, we will discuss the future of telehealth, unveiling its trends based on telehealth statistics.
Telemedicine Market Overview
The concept of telemedicine was introduced in the early 2000s. Its evolution down the line became an essential aspect of its growth in recent years. In 2022, telemedicine was valued at $83.5 billion and is estimated to surpass $60 billion in the USA alone in 2024.
Some of the reasons for its rapid growth is because of the following reasons:
- Growing population worldwide.
- Increase in number of patients with chronic conditions.
- The global shortage of medical staff.
- Increase in disease and health awareness.
The telemedicine market is set to become a global industry due to the growing rise in its popularity and easy access to healthcare services.
Telemedicine Usage Statistics
Between 2004 and 2014, the US Government made a significant effort to electronically record patients’ health records. This gave the much-needed boost to telemedicine, and over the years, as telemedicine statistics suggest, it became a known concept in the USA.
Currently, Canada and the USA combine to generate 47.1% of the total revenue in the telehealth industry. Following in the footsteps of the USA, European countries are also trying to integrate telemedicine into their healthcare system.
Europe is one of the fastest-growing markets in the telehealth industry, with an estimated value of $11.32 billion. It is expected to almost double its market share to $21.8 billion, as suggested by the telemedicine growth statistics.
Following this pathway, telemedicine will continue to grow and become a global concept as it continues to evolve.
Benefits of Telehealth
The COVID-19 pandemic proved to be the turning point in the growth of telehealth. According to telemedicine statistics, around 82% of customers used telemedicine for the first time. Introducing them to virtual care and other benefits of the telehealth domain.
Some of the most prominent benefits of telehealth are
- Easy Accessibility: It became easy for individuals to seek medical advice and consultations from the comfort of their homes.
- Time and Cost Saving: Telehealth has been time and cost-saving for both patients and providers. Patients can now save on transportation, whereas providers can save on the cost of physically running a clinic.
- Remote Monitoring: Telehealth enables providers to remotely monitor the health conditions of their patients. With telehealth, tracking vitals and medication has become much easier and more comfortable.
- Quick Access to Care: Telehealth allows patients to get faster access to healthcare facilities. Individuals can schedule a virtual appointment, which can be pivotal for assessing conditions that require timely intervention.
- Enhanced Patient Engagement: Managing health became much easier for individuals as communicating with the healthcare providers was improved. Along with that, individuals can also access specialist care for their complex or rare health conditions.
Current Telemedicine Market Trends
According to telemedicine growth statistics released by Mordor Intelligence, the two trends that drive the growth of the telemedicine market are Telehomes and Mobile Health. All these trends are currently seen and are expected to be the growth factor for telehealth in the future.
1. Telehomes
Telehome has been one of the fastest growing trends in the USA last year. It has been crucial for the diagnosis and treatment of patients suffering from chronic disorders, as it allows home-administered health care.
2. Mobile Health
As the name suggests, Mobile Health is accessing healthcare services and facilities over smartphones. It is one of the largest followed trends in telehealth across the globe. Mobile health includes all the mobile applications from your medication tracker to direct consulting of your healthcare provider. This makes it one of the broadest concepts in the entire telehealth industry.
3. Mental Health
One distinct change brought by telehealth is the focus on mental health. According to telemental health statistics, there has been almost a 39% increase in mental health outpatient.
Telehealth has made it possible for individuals to seek health for mental conditions and substance use. This trend is likely to stay as governments across the world are making an effort to spread awareness about mental health.
Future of Telehealth
The growth of telehealth depends on the growing demand of the current trends and the new ones in the industry. Though the current trends have helped the industry to be a global trend, here are some of the future trends that are expected to define the future of telehealth.
1. IoT and IoMT
IoT and IoMT, or the Internet of Medical Things, are one of the fastest-growing trends in the healthcare and telehealth industry.
With the growing popularity of IoMT, the telehealth industry wants to connect more devices to improve the health of its users. These devices can help in monitoring vital signs like blood pressure, glucose levels, heartbeats, etc.
This would give easy access to medical records and help providers in making better decisions.
2. AI, ML, and Big Data
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) is still an evolving trend in the field of Information and Technology. Though significant developments with these technologies have been made, their evolution will further help the telehealth industry to grow and flourish. Currently, with AI and ML, thermal scanning, stroke detection, and CT Scan analysis have become easier.
Big Data will help providers track and predict future trends in health patterns. Its integration will provide crucial telehealth statistics to pave the way for the future.
3. EHR-Embedded Solution
Electronic Health Records (EHR) of patients embedded in telehealth solutions can be game-changing for the industry. Integrating EHR systems with Telehealth solutions can provide healthcare professionals with vital information about patient’s health.
With EHR, healthcare providers can provide accurate diagnoses and make the most of accurate information available.
Impact of COVID-19 on Telehealth
COVID-19 gave the required boost to telehealth that is required. It was during the pandemic that the need for virtual care became even more evident than ever. Telemedicine statistics by McKinsey Study showed that the projected growth of the Telehealth industry went from 18% to 35% in just one year.
Social distancing made telehealth the most reliable option for patients to access healthcare services. Along with that, COVID-19 also increased the use of IoMT, wearable healthcare devices, and remote patient monitoring.
The recent global pandemic has had an adverse impact on people’s mental health across the globe. Telehealth solutions allow people to easily seek help, diagnoses, and treatment for their mental conditions. One telemental health statistic also suggested that the number of people seeking help for their mental health and substance use significantly increased.
Challenges and Considerations
Over the past few years, telehealth statistics have shown incredible growth. It has been widely adopted and significantly reduced the burden on healthcare providers. However, its implementation is not easy, and there are some challenges to consider.
1. Implantation
Implementation and integration of telehealth into the existing healthcare system will remain a major challenge due to the lack of necessary infrastructure for its adoption.
2. Staff Training
Telehealth heavily relies on technology, and its adoption will require educating the staff about its practices. Healthcare is a widespread industry; training and educating medical staff will pose another hurdle in telehealth implementation.
3. Data Security
Data security is a growing concern for healthcare institutions adopting telehealth solutions. Data breaches remain a trend and threat in the telehealth industry. This has also been a major point of consideration for healthcare institutions while adopting telehealth services.
4. Complying with Regulatory Requirements
Every state or country has different regulatory requirements to which providers must comply, like HIPAA in the US and GDPR in Europe. Moving to a new geographical area will come with significant geographical, geopolitical, and legal challenges. Compliance with the regulatory requirements is needed to protect patient health data and provide better care.
Conclusion
The COVID-19 pandemic gave the required boost to the telehealth industry to become a known concept. Telehealth statistics show that it has become an integral part of the healthcare industry. Along with that, the growing demand for a convenient approach to health will help in further growth of the industry. The integration of telehealth services will also help in significantly improving the healthcare quality.
Frequently Asked Questions
In 2023, the utilization of telehealth services increased by 7% in January, according to FAIR Health’s Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker. Some of the major trends in telehealth to grow in 2023 will significantly involve IoT and wearable devices.
The number one diagnosis provided via asynchronous telehealth has been respiratory diseases and infections. However, Hypertension still remains the second most diagnosed disease via asynchronous telehealth.
The USA remains the major market for the telehealth industry, with a market share of almost $17 billion. The United States and Canada alone contribute to 47% of the global revenue. Globally, the North American market makes up 60.3% of the total telehealth market.
Currently, the global telehealth market is $87.8 billion and is expected to grow up to $285.7 billion by 2027 at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 26.6%. The North American telehealth market makes up 60.3% of the telehealth market, followed by Europe and other regions across the globe.
Yes, the telehealth industry is growing at an unprecedented rate. Between 2019 and 2020, the telehealth industry surpassed its growth rate from 18% to 35%. Towards the end of 2020, the market hiked and stabilized 38 times higher than 2019.
In 2022, the telehealth industry was evaluated at $87.8 billion and growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 26.6%; it is predicted to reach $285.7 billion by 2027.
