Telehealth Advancements In 2022

Telehealth has become a mainstream digital health provider and the demand for remote patient monitoring is increasing.

The credit for the growth of health care technology goes to Covid-19 and to the relaxation provided by the government on telemedicine reimbursement and licensure regulations.

Dr. Ian Tong, chief medical officer at Included Health, a telepath technology and services company, talked to Healthcare IT News about his take and predictions for Telehealth in 2022 and its upcoming years. 

What changes do you think will take place in telemedicine in 2022?

2021 witnessed many changes taking place in telemedicine. Many technological merging and acquisitions took place to meet the demands of the pandemic.

Payers, consumers, and providers are increasingly adopting the virtual model of care.

Despite this, much of the technology of these shared entities remains broken.

The customers are still operating various systems and figuring out the functions of technology by themselves.

The technology needs to serve the masses without the need for any assistance and navigation.

Virtual care appointments will rise beyond video conferencing.

Technological advances will enable health professionals to engage with multiple patients at the same time.

It will allow professionals to provide counseling and assistance to multiple customers within the same time frame. 

Technology will allow physicians to provide holistic, dynamic, and integrated care to their patients by collectively accessing their past illnesses and treatments and generating care plans. 

Advanced technology will give a new face to the healthcare sector by utilizing the full potential of virtual care. 

Government and payers have enforced temporary moves, which has led to an exponential growth in the use of telehealth. What do you think is the future of reimbursement for virtual care in 2022? Will it permanently stay and expand its horizons?

Post-Covid times have witnessed a rise in the usage of virtual care.

Virtual care system proves to be extremely beneficial for seniors and immunocompromised patients who can’t afford physical exposure.

Considering these situations, the government should try to make virtual care accessible to every section of the nation.

Virtual care is catering to the requirements of patients who are in need of chronic health treatment and behavioral-health therapy.

Before, it was only used to treat immediate issues with low intensity such as cough and cold.

Now, people can easily access virtual care for their complex issues without having to constantly visit their doctor’s clinic.

The most vulnerable and historically deprived sections of society are in dire need of virtual care. Hence, it should be affordable and accessible to everyone.

The health care sector will continue to reap better outcomes with the majority of the population shifting to virtual care.

Healthcare provider organizations are showing great interest in Remote Patient Monitoring. What do you think will happen with RPM in 2022?

The demand for Remote Patient monitoring in the health care sector will only grow with time.

In the prevailing time, one-third of consumers are tilted towards using a provider that allows them to share information from a connected health device such as heart monitors, Fitbits, and Bluetooth-enabled scales.

We will be able to provide more efficient and personalized figures when we can collect real-time data from people within the comfort of their homes.

However, in order to see growth in the RPM sector, these devices need to become cost-efficient. 

With cost-efficient devices, health plans will be able to find a return on investment to aid the use of these devices.