Telehealth connects patients with medical professionals, wherever they are

Telehealth adoption is gaining traction: insurance companies are starting to cover it, and physicians and developers are getting excited about its possibilities. Studies show that telehealth will expand 25-fold, to connect 19 million patients to professional caregivers by 2018. Recent reports indicate that downloads of health apps are up significantly year-over-year. However, telehealth isn’t just about fitness trackers.

Telehealth connects patients with physicians and nurses when they need answers to medical questions, wherever they are. Cincinnati Children’s hospital is using telemedicine to provide care to patients in the Caribbean. Others are looking to design apps to aid in behavior modification for the management of chronic illnesses like diabetes, substance abuse, and Parkinson’s, among others.

Given the speed of innovation, many Americans aren’t sure what telehealth is, how it will impact their lives, and are hesitant to accept the advice of medical professionals they’ve not seen face-to-face. As insurers and payers look for ways to cut costs, telehealth will become increasingly important because physicians can treat more patients in less time.

But there are benefits for patients as well.

• Convenience: Telehealth apps, like First Derm, keep patients with typical conditions at work or with their families rather than at a doctor’s office. You still get the medical information you need from board-certified professionals, but on your terms rather than their office hours.
• Access: Because you don’t need to vie for space in an exam room, you’ll get answers to your medical questions quicker. Physicians using telehealth are able to treat more patients in general. By treating certain conditions remotely, physicians have more time during the day for face-to-face encounters with patients that have potentially severe conditions.
• Cost savings: With telehealth, you don’t have to take time away from work to see the doctor, you don’t have to travel to the doctor’s office, and consults cost less in general.