4 Telehealth Trends That Actively Improve the Healthcare Sector

Telehealth and telemedicine are some of the most emerging technologies in the healthcare sector. Although these two procedures were used even before the pandemic, during Covid-19, telemedicine became crucial for doctors trying to face the increasing number of patients daily. Luckily, after the pandemic slowed down, telemedicine improved and provided the best services for healthcare providers and patients.

That’s why trends are shaping the industry, and it’s essential to understand and use them adequately. For example, it’s normal that telehealth use rises with age, meaning that the sector should learn how to customize its products and services tailored to the targeted customers. At the same time, since telehealth is mainly used in urban areas, the industry should also focus on expanding its programs in rural places since people living there have less access to healthcare benefits.

Let’s see what those trends are and how they contribute to healthcare improvement.

mHealth

mHealth or mobile health comprises the usage of mobile technology for providing public health services, emergency services, and data management as well. mHealth is one of the best ways in which medicine can become more efficient and qualitative and allow better communication. Luckily, as the prevalence of smartphones and tablets made them widely accessible, these factors influenced the mHealth market to grow, as it’s expected to grow up to 190 billion U.S. dollars by 2025. And although more customers demand this type of consulting since it’s efficient and allows them to get proper diagnosis and medication, others are concerned about the privacy of personal information.

The truth is that for now, there’s not enough regulation on how to properly ensure patient data safety, which is why people are skeptical about relying on telemedicine. However, as mHealth develops and people turn to this method due to its ability to decrease healthcare costs, the issues regarding customer data will be solved. Finally, the security of data systems must also improve, which requires more investments in the healthcare sector.

Artificial Intelligence

AI is expanding in multiple sectors, and the healthcare industry is already using AI technology for more accurate diagnoses and the enhancement of preventive care. Therefore, telemedicine is also essential, where AI can improve healthcare providers' daily tasks.

For example, AI-based chatbots can include symptoms, medications, treatments, and more to help minimize the time spent manually checking these details for every patient. The first FDA-approved AI has already proved to be efficient in detecting diabetic retinopathy in adults with diabetes, with no previous support from doctors; the system analyzes pictures of the retina by checking for possible signs of this disease. The trials showed that the AI correctly recognized the disorder in 87% of the given situations and about 90% of the cases when people weren’t suspected of it.

VR and AR

VR and AR technologies have made it possible to provide remote telemedicine platforms to become widely accessible and beneficial for both patients and doctors. Some of the methods of using AR in healthcare include the following:

• Head tracking can analyze the user’s head movements while simulating the environment around through features like a gyroscope, accelerometer and LEDs;
• Eye tracking provides an infrared controller to follow the direction of eye movements;
• A movement tracking system can raise the level of VR experience while using cameras and sensors to track movements;

VR also has the following use cases in medicine:

• Education and training for complex procedures;
• Diagnosis for treating patients using digital tools in real-time;
• Performing risk-associated surgeries;
• Treating phobia by exposing patients to a virtual environment related to their fear;
• Remote monitoring of patients from another part of the world;

AR and VR are immersive and engaging technologies that save time and costs and provide real-time feedback. The future of these tools will make hardware more affordable, as well as facilitate enterprise market penetration for consumer products, such as telemedicine.

Remote medical services

As telehealth and telemedicine expand, the rise of remote medical services is expected to happen soon. That’s because providing patients with quality health services and products during more challenging times from the comfort of their own house will help healthcare providers avoid burnout while consulting a higher number of people. For example, the following sectors can see in the future the inclusion of remote medical services:

• Telepsychiatry is a subgroup of telemedicine and allows for remote psychiatric evaluations and medication management;
• Dermatology can help monitor the treatment stage in people who are in medical care trials;
• Mental health is already seeing an increase in remote video conferences, offering more people the chance to speak to a professional when needed;

Remote medical services are slowly becoming one of the most competitive markets because healthcare providers must look to provide top-notch products and services; otherwise, people can easily find someone who can offer more qualitative treatment and diagnosis at a better price. Of course, the most competitive aspect of telehealth is there’s no waiting time in waiting rooms, which spares people from uncomfortable situations of spending a lot of time in a narrow place.

Overall, many telehealth advantages would make patients choose it instead of traditional consulting. For example, they can make appointments on demand using specific apps, but it takes less time to get a session with your healthcare provider this way. The integration of medical panel PC technology has further streamlined the telehealth experience for both patients and providers. At the same time, patients can be monitored remotely, which minimizes the need for a second appointment, which makes enough free time for other people to get consulted. Finally, for patients who are working, telehealth provides the time and virtual space for them to talk with their doctors without skipping work or having to commute.

Final thoughts

Telehealth has the potential to change the medical industry forever. And although it provides many benefits to patients and doctors by saving time and costs and better monitoring people’s conditions remotely, telehealth has yet to improve to become a better tool for healthcare. Some of the things that must change include better software solutions to ensure patient data security and also more regulations on proper methods of using mHealth and similar trends legally and adequately.