A Revolution in Health Care

Two words describe the march of telehealth: steady and forward. On nearly a weekly basis, states all over the country are voting the legal architecture into place that will pave the way for telehealth to become an important fixture in modern healthcare service. Legislators from Idaho to Florida and executives from diverse healthcare companies agree; telehealth is the future of healthcare. We must ask: what are the legal, corporate, and generational trends that investors and practitioners take as telltale signs of telehealth's imminent boom?

It's important to note how the legal and business sides of the adoption of telehealth intertwine. Both sides must proceed in lockstep, with the legislative side providing the permissions and regulations for the business side, and the business side providing the motivation and justification for the laws. It is telehealth companies like TruClinic in Salt Lake City that are leading the legislative charge, campaigning at the capitol and leading by example. According to a study by Foley, more than 84% of healthcare leaders and executives believe telehealth will become important additions to their operations. Telehealth is here, and its significance will only grow in time.  

That's not to say it will be a perfectly smooth transition or there won't be a period of making heads or tails out of a new technology. Society will always go through a trial period with newly introduced technology. This is precisely what we see with the recently passed Arkansas bill,  which specifies that the patient and doctor must have a previous relationship, essentially to have met in person, prior to engaging in telehealth communications (Wicklund, 2015a). A sensible stipulation, but one that may or may not hold in the long term.

Reimbursement is another issue at the center of the telehealth reform. How will insurance companies, doctors, and patients work out the cost and value of telemedicine? Some states like Arkansas require equal reimbursement for telehealth and in-person checkups, while others quantify one with a higher rate than the other. With two more reimbursement bills to go through the house this month, (Wicklund, 2015b), Congress has to take notice. In a report by Freelance MD, 44% of physicians interviewed said reimbursement was the pivotal issue deciding whether or not they would adopt telemedicine. With numbers like that you can be sure the legislation will follow.

The pace at which the laws are catching up with the technology is extraordinary compared to reforms of the past. In the growth of any new technology hiccups are to be expected, procedures must inevitably change, and progress comes in stages. But as the laws develop and lawyers and technical experts have time to deliberate, one can predict more uniformity and coherence in the letter of the law across states and the accumulation of best practices for optimizing telehealth platforms.

Another thing to keep in mind is shifting demographics and generational dynamics make telehealth a natural extension of existing trends. The millennial generation, at 80 million strong, is the largest generation in the U.S (Solomon, 2014) and also one of the most digitally savvy ones, a grouping for whom getting things done online is second nature. As the Affordable Care Act makes insurance coverage more accessible to this generation, and as the oldest among them enter middle age and have children, telehealth stands poised to deliver them healthcare digitally in a way that is familiar to them and situated comfortably alongside the other facets of the mediated lifestyle such as social media.

Taken together, these legislative, commercial, and generational trends dovetail to produce convincing evidence that telehealth is a powerful new current in healthcare. Telemedicine brings clinical practice fully into the digital age by using the flexibility and adaptability of networks and mediated digital communications to strengthen and streamline the bonds between patients and their healthcare providers. The result will not only be healthier patients, but more efficient and better organized clinical operations.