However, the savings would be limited to developed nations where access to required devices and Internet connectivity is prevalent.
A new study by Juniper Research projects that telemedicine will save the healthcare industry $21 billion in costs by 2025, up from $11 billion in 2021, and a growth rate of more than 80% in the next four years.
The Juniper report, Telemedicine: Emerging Technologies, Regional Readiness & Market Forecasts 2021‑2025, says that teleconsultations will be a key driver of savings for the healthcare sector.
The report notes that there were more than 280 million teleconsultations performed in 2019. Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, that number shot up to 348 million in 2020. Juniper projects that third party healthcare service developers will play a critical crucial in accelerating the use of emerging telemedicine services.
A potential damper on the boom, at least in the United States, could be the hefty investment needed to integrate telemedicine services and mandates for data protection under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
Juniper said those restrictions "will discourage adoption amongst smaller healthcare providers."
Instead, the report recommends that healthcare regulatory bodies, such as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, "continue to deregulate telemedicine services to minimize any remaining barriers to entry for smaller healthcare providers."
"Any deregulation must ensure that patient confidentiality is not undermined," report author Adam Wears said. "Additionally, we recommend that innovative and emerging teleconsultation services are integrated into existing healthcare technologies, such as electronic health records, to maximize their benefits to healthcare providers."
Wears warned that savings would be limited to developed nations where access to required devices and Internet connectivity is prevalent. As a result, more than 80% of savings will be attributable to North America and Europe by 2025.
“Any deregulation must ensure that patient confidentiality is not undermined.”
Adam Wears, Juniper Research
John Commins is the news editor for HealthLeaders.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The Juniper report, Telemedicine: Emerging Technologies, Regional Readiness & Market Forecasts 2021‑2025, says that teleconsultations will be a key driver of savings for the healthcare sector.
The report notes that there were more than 280 million teleconsultations performed in 2019. Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, that number shot up to 348 million in 2020.
Juniper projects that third party healthcare service developers will play a critical crucial in accelerating the use of emerging telemedicine services.
A potential damper on the boom, at least in the United States, could be the hefty investment needed to integrate telemedicine services and mandates for data protection under HIPAA.