Telemedicine offers convenient solutions to modern healthcare challenges like the aging population, growing demand for healthcare services, and others.

Telemedicine is rapidly becoming a go-to medium to access healthcare, and its rise is seen as inevitable by experts. Post-COVID-19, very few businesses have been able to replicate its growth story. The demand for the online health industry is witnessing a sudden surge as more and more people are turning to health apps to purchase medicines and to connect with medical experts. To cater to their customer’s needs, most health institutions are now investing heavily in telemedicine app development.

"Post Covid-19, Digital solutions that limit people's movement, reduce cost, and yet increase productivity, such as video conferencing, telemedicine, and edtech, will become the norm."    Saurabh Uboweja, founder, of BOD Consulting

Why Telemedicine?

The stark difference in the quality of healthcare between urban areas and rural areas is no secret. By making high-quality health services accessible to rural areas, telemedicine will help to bridge this gap. Telemedicine is cardinal in removing geographical barriers.

Madan Gopal - a senior consultant (Health) at NITI Aayog, stated in an op-ed in Indian Express, "Depending on the pace of digital adoption, these services could resolve issues of accessibility, absence, and in the long-term, possibly even affordability." [Emphasis added]

The cost-effectiveness of telemedicine was supported by a report from McKinsey International as well. The report mentioned that "Telemedicine might be more affordable than in-person consultations: in trials, it reduced consultation costs by about 30%."

The report further stated, "If telemedicine replaced 30-40% of in-person visits, and the overall healthcare industry adopts digitization, India might save up to $10 billion in 2025."

To understand the benefits of Telemedicine in rural areas. Read our blog on the same topic.

Market Growth Forecast:

Telemedicine is not just a stopgap solution for the COVID-19 pandemic; it was worth $34.2 billion in 2018 and had already reached $49.89 billion in market value in 2019. Telemedicine services have grown at a considerable compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22.5% since 2015.

However, COVID-19 has indeed accelerated its adoption - as many reports point out.

Fortune Business Insights project that the Telemedicine market is expected to reach $185.6 billion by 2026. In comparison, a report from the Business Research Company (TBR) projects that the market will reach a $194.05 billion valuation in 2023 at an astounding rate of 40.4%.

In the USA alone, telemedicine services have increased from 11 percent in 2019 to 46 percent now. [McKinsey COVID-19 Consumer Survey, April 27, 2020.]

The forecast for region-specific CAGR is as follows: the Asia Pacific at 13.2%, the Middle East at 15.4%, Africa at 12.4%, and South America at 11.4%. [TBR]

Key Factors affecting the growth of Telemedicine:

1. Primary Driver: Technology adoption due to COVID-19

COVID-19 provided a significant boost to the adoption of online healthcare services like online pharmacies and telemedicine services. And now, most hospitals are investing in telemedicine programs to meet the demand.

2. Main Challenges: Fraud and the lack of awareness

Fraud: The risk associated with telemedicine is that a patient’s details or a hospital’s database get compromised and used to demand ransom or for forgery.

Lack of awareness: Although the adoption of telemedicine has been surprisingly good - It is a difficult task to convince and encourage people to use unfamiliar technology.

3. Future Plan: AI and Analytics

AI can be trained to develop algorithms to deliver proper care and match healthcare providers with patients. Such as if a patient needs an X-ray, suggest to him the local care; if a patient has only a mild cold, he can be connected to any doctor.

Recommending better treatment has already been done by IBM Watson Health for cancer patients.

Big data collected and processed by advanced analytics techniques enable risk prediction. Data-driven analytics is vital to ensure the efficiency of telemedicine.

Telemedicine Forecast Key Highlights:

  • The market valuation of $34.2 billion in 2018.
  • Reached $49.89 billion market value in 2019.
  • The forecast for region-specific CAGR: the Asia Pacific at 13.2%, the Middle East at 15.4%, Africa at 12.4%, and South America at 11.4%.
  • Expected to reach a $194.05 billion valuation in 2023 at a CAGR of 40.4%.
  • Primary Driver: Technology adoption due to COVID-19
  • Main Challenges: Fraud and the lack of awareness
  • Future Plan: AI and Analytics

How to develop your own Telemedicine Platform?

Telemedicine is getting widely adopted now as it offers plenty of benefits for doctors and patients. A good telemedicine platform requires a deep understanding of the IT and healthcare domain, in which we have had proficiency for the last ten years. EMed HealthTech has developed more than 450 applications and websites related to healthcare for clients spread across 35 countries.

Whatever your needs are, we are here to help you with our 10+ years of experience in the domain of healthcare IT. You can build a high-quality android app, an iOS app, and a website for your business with us. Want to experience why clients across the globe are relying on our services for their online pharmacy app development needs? Get your free demo here. Nowadays Telemedicine Becoming a New Normal in the Healthcare Industry. To know about this check this out.

Our feature-packed yet cost-effective telemedicine solution provides a bug-free and smooth user experience across all platforms, whether Android, iOS, or the Website.

We have a white-label solution for the telemedicine platform, which is easy to implement. And it is scalable and customizable as per the users’ needs.

Contact us to develop a feature-packed telemedicine platform for your hospital: Call +91 63676 58233 / +91 94086 38536

Have a query? Please mail us at info@emedstore.in