Why Telemedicine Is Growing So Fast
Introduction
Telemedicine (or telehealth) is the name given to the practice of dispersing medical treatment and advice remotely. It can take place over the phone, but in more recent years we’ve witnessed the niche become more and more dominated by computer-driven treatment.
Telemedicine in general has been experiencing rapid growth, with the area building on its success year on year in terms of general adoption, public knowledge of the subject, and the trust that patients are willing to give treatment they receive remotely.
But what exactly has been driving telemedicine growth? And is it likely to continue well into the future? In the following blog post, we’ll be talking about some of the main factors that are contributing to telemedicine’s increasingly widespread acceptance.
1: Growing Approval
Regulatory groups like the FDA have been giving the green light to digital medicine services faster and faster as the idea becomes more mainstream and more and more fears are allayed.
There are now a ton of telemedicine services available on the Internet (although only one of them can treat patients with Accutane at a particularly low cost), and with every site that makes it to market, the level of acceptance among legislative agencies continues to skyrocket.
This approval plays a big part in making sure patients’ concerns are attended to, in particular the biggest of the lot — can they really trust medical treatment they receive from a website? The technology is there, but with the approval of groups like the FDA, a huge fear is taken care of, which can only trigger further growth in the area.
2: Patient Fears
The main fear patients have with regards to telemedicine services is the quality of care they’re receiving. When compared with a brick and mortar doctor’s office, which is something everybody’s familiar with, telehealth services present a radically different option. However, as time continues to pass and the niche continues to grow, patient fears are being gradually dissipated as the general public grows to trust the quality of care that can be provided by an online doctor’s office.
Other worries patients tend to have are about the costs involved with telemedicine, and what exactly they’re paying for. Some payment plans are complicated and messy, with all kinds of hidden costs that aren’t apparent at first glance. On the other hand, the best telemedicine services have been able to put their users’ minds at ease by keeping everything as straightforward as possible.
With AcneXpert, you’ll only be paying for the treatment itself, and the first consultation is completely free. Not a bad way to try before you buy!
3: Patient Interactivity
Patient engagement is another aspect worth talking about. Technology has made it possible for would-be patients to take proactive steps. With regards to managing their own health. Advancements like chatbots and customized forms make it possible for patients to self-evaluate to a degree and decide whether or not they need a consultation. For example, AcneXpert’s Acne Quiz is a mild form of self-screening that can help users make the final call for themselves with regards to the costs and benefits of Accutane therapy.
As patients continue to trend towards adopting the trend that is telemedicine, the services themselves grow in reputation and trustworthiness.
The possibilities for the telehealth industry to really push the boundaries of what traditional medicine can accomplish are enormous, and they’ll largely be related to increasing the rate at which patients engage with the services themselves.
We live in a world where there’s nothing stopping you from playing an active role in your own treatment, and telemedicine offers the most promising avenue for exploring that aspect of the patient experience.
Conclusion
To sum it all up, telemedicine is rapidly growing as an industry because of the impressive possibilities it offers in comparison with the traditional brick-and-mortar clinical experience.
Initially sparked by the approval of the FDA and other regulatory agencies, telemedicine has been carried along by the patients themselves, as their concerns are attended to and their levels of engagement grow.
Telemedicine is an exciting area, and we’re (obviously) only too keen on talking about it. If you have a question about remote medicine or the benefits it offers over the brick-and-mortar alternative, feel free to get in touch with us and we’ll sort it out the best we can.
