Telehealth is projected to reach 1.8 million patients worldwide by 2017, according to "The World Market for Telehealth – An Analysis of Demand Dynamics – 2012," a new report from InMedica, part of IMS Research, a supplier of market research for the electronics industry.
According to the report, patients remotely monitored by their healthcare provider for cognitive heart failure currently account for a majority of telehealth patients. In the future, however, telehealth for diabetes and chronic pulmonary disease patients are expected to grow.
InMedica identified four main drivers of telehealth demand in its report. These are:
1. Federal-driven demand. In the U.S., readmission penalties introduced by the CMS are driving providers to adopt telehealth as a means of reducing readmission penalties. Worldwide, healthcare providers are looking to reduce healthcare expenditure through telehealth programs.
2. Provider-driven demand. Healthcare providers want to use telehealth to maintain ties with patients and improve quality of care.
3. Payor-driven demand. Insurance providers are also using telehealth to increase competitiveness and reduce inpatient pay-outs.
4. Patient-driven demand. For now, patient-driven demand is mostly limited to rural areas where there is poor availability of clinics and physicians. However, patients in metropolitan areas will increasingly seek professional devices to remotely track their health, according to the report.
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According to the report, patients remotely monitored by their healthcare provider for cognitive heart failure currently account for a majority of telehealth patients. In the future, however, telehealth for diabetes and chronic pulmonary disease patients are expected to grow.
InMedica identified four main drivers of telehealth demand in its report. These are:
1. Federal-driven demand. In the U.S., readmission penalties introduced by the CMS are driving providers to adopt telehealth as a means of reducing readmission penalties. Worldwide, healthcare providers are looking to reduce healthcare expenditure through telehealth programs.
2. Provider-driven demand. Healthcare providers want to use telehealth to maintain ties with patients and improve quality of care.
3. Payor-driven demand. Insurance providers are also using telehealth to increase competitiveness and reduce inpatient pay-outs.
4. Patient-driven demand. For now, patient-driven demand is mostly limited to rural areas where there is poor availability of clinics and physicians. However, patients in metropolitan areas will increasingly seek professional devices to remotely track their health, according to the report.
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Case Study: Iowa Health System's Pursuit of Interoperability & Telehealth