The Rise of Telemedicine

As reimbursement evolves from fee for service to alternative payment models, incentives will shift from treating sickness to keeping the population healthy. & nbsp; New investments will be made in technologies that reach into the home and enhance care team communication. & nbsp; & nbsp; 2016 saw an acceleration of telemedicine/telehealth. & nbsp; 2017 will see exponential growth. < br / > < br / > Telemedicine is hard to define. & nbsp; It could be real time video teleconferencing between clinicians (a consult), between a patient and clincian (a visit), or group to group & nbsp;(tumor board discussion). & nbsp; & nbsp;It could be the transmission of a static photograph, such as the poisonous mushroom/plant teleconsultation I do 900 times per year. & nbsp; & nbsp;It could be secure texting to coordinate patient care. < br / > < br / > Patients might provide care teams with objective data from devices in their homes. & nbsp;Patients might answer surveys about their mood, activity, or pain. & nbsp; < br / > < br / > All of these are telemedicine. < br / > < br / > Many companies will offer cloud-based tools and technologies to support these new workflows. & nbsp; Some organizations will & nbsp;use bridging technology to link together every kind of endpoint (Skype, Facetime, commerical telemedicine apps) with every kind of endpoint. < br / > < br / > There are so many use cases and so many possibilities that one approach will not serve all needs, so most organizations will have a...
Source: Life as a Healthcare CIO - Category: Information Technology Source Type: blogs