As providers, payers and patients align in what Schoenberg calls a national play for delivering real-time care anywhere patients and providers can connect, telemedicine stands ready to revolutionize healthcare the way Amazon has rewritten retail.
After a long decade of struggle, the stars have aligned for telemedicine, according to Roy Schoenberg, MD, CEO and co-founder of telehealth technology and services vendor American Well. And the understanding and acceptance of providers, payers and patients have united to the point where the electronic delivery of healthcare is poised to become part of the norm.
“First, medical authorities, policymakers, and healthcare’s movers and shakers have acknowledged that delivering healthcare through technology can be valuable and safe; that has been the war zone for the last 10 years of telehealth,” Schoenberg said. “Medical boards and medical associations were hesitant about embracing telehealth; physicians were concerned about diminishing the relationship they have with patients. But the experiences with telehealth during the last couple of years have been reassuring, and telehealth increasingly has become one of the ways physicians interact with patients.”
Second, insurance companies that while label American Well technology including Anthem, United Health Group and several of the big Blues have finally begun to take the stance that, like in any other industry, digital mechanisms are here to stay and will be a major part of the industry’s future; as a result, payers are getting on top of telehealth and discovering how to conduct such care safely, Schoenberg said. Click here to continue>
