LONG BEACH, CA – Telemedicine, long believed to have the potential for facilitating healthcare treatment, may be about to play a significant role in ambulatory settings.
According to a recent assessment of the technology and its potential role in healthcare, telemedicine soon will be more widely embraced by mainstream healthcare as a way to provide more care efficiently, and it will be seen as a cost-effective way to manage the care of growing numbers with chronic healthcare conditions.
Some 90 million people in the United States live with chronic conditions, said a report from First Consulting Group, a Long Beach, Calif.-based consulting firm.
“We need an efficient way to manage these huge numbers of patients with conditions that can be managed remotely,” said report author Jared Rhoads, a research analyst. “Chronic conditions is where we see the opportunity. With chronic conditions, you know what you’re looking for and what you’re going to monitor.”
Technology costs are coming down, he said, and the basic concepts to facilitate in-home telemedicine are simple enough that patients and providers will feel comfortable with telemedicine, increasing the likelihood it will be embraced in the home setting.
“For a long time, the technology’s been here, but it’s been quite expensive,” Rhoads said. “With the Internet, all that has changed. You can buy a Webcam for $50, and using it doesn’t require technical knowledge and expertise.”
Reimbursement for telemedicine care has always proved problematic, due to reluctance from payers. That may be changing, said Fran Turisco, a research director for First Consulting who has followed the technology for years.
“There are more than 100 commercial payers that report that they pay for at least one telemedicine,” Turisco said. Payers now reimbursing for telemedicine services include Aetna and Cigna Healthcare, which have announced that they will pay for conducting electronic or Web-based consultations in selected markets.
“If you can keep the patient healthy and out of the emergency department, you’re saving money if you’re the payer,” she said. “Everyone is looking to (the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) to see what they’re going to do” in deciding whether to reimburse for telemedicine care.