Driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth demand will jump 64.3% this year, according to a new telehealth market forecast from Frost & Sullivan.
The 2020 growth is expected to be part of a larger trend, with a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 38.2%.
The opportunity for telehealth products and services to become a standard of care is growing, Frost & Sullivan pointed out. The research firm said among the technologies that will benefit from the growth in telehealth demand will be:
- User-friendly sensors and remote diagnostic equipment that yield a high rate of successful patient outcomes following the telehealth experience.
- Practical applications of artificial intelligence (AI), Interactive Virtual Assistants (IVAs) and robotics that expand the telehealth deployment model.
- Big data analytics that can help researchers learn more about the way COVID-19 progresses among diverse patient populations.
“The critical need for social distancing among physicians and patients will drive unprecedented demand for telehealth, which involves the use of communication systems and networks to enable either a synchronous or asynchronous session between the patient and provider,” Victor Camlek, Frost & Sullivan principal health care analyst, said in a prepared statement about the telehealth market forecast.”However, all stakeholders need to remember that many people use the terms ‘telehealth’ or ‘telemedicine’ without understanding the ecosystem that is involved.”
Camlek added: “Across the market segments, virtual visits and remote patient monitoring (RPM) will propel the overall market of telehealth, followed by mHealth and personal emergency response systems (PERS). Further, patients will benefit if data from RPM is fully available to virtual visit providers. This trend will demonstrate the benefit of integrated services. The trauma resulting from the COVID-19 crisis will lead to a clear growth opportunity for one-stop virtual visit and RPM solutions.”
Policymakers have recognized the potential of telemedicine and included funding for it in the CARES Act passed earlier this year, as Telecompetitor reported.
