Dive Brief:
- While it's clear that it can have great benefit, there are several factors that are holding back telemedicine use from blossoming, according to some experts.
- One factor holding back telemedicine is the need to identify patients' "micro-expressions," small facial expressions that tell a great deal. Micro-expressions pass in 1/15th to 1/25 of a second, making it difficult to detect them, according to experts.
- Another problem holding back the growth in telemedicine is that many payers pay poorly if at all for telemedicine services, giving physicians little incentive to take up the new technologies.
Dive Insight:
Without a doubt, there are significant obstacles to widespread telemedicine use. However, the incredible growth in telemedical apps and supporting infrastructure for apps seems to be working around the problems which have stalled telemedicine for decades. I believe that telemedicine consults by smart phone and tablet will inevitably go mainstream, particularly given that their price point is accessible to consumers. As for telemedicine done with more expensive equipment within a hospital, the jury is still out as to how far it can be taken. Let's see whether payers decide that this modality is worth the investment in paying for new services.