The global telehealth industry size was USD 144.38 billion in 2020. Based on our analysis, the market exhibited a stellar growth of 135.2% in 2020 as compared to the average year-on-year growth during 2017-2019. The market is projected to grow from USD 90.74 billion in 2021 to USD 636.38 billion in 2028 at a CAGR of 32.1% in the 2021-2028 period.

Technology is evolving rapidly across all sectors. In the healthcare industry, technology has made a huge impact with the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics among others. Improving quality life of patients has always been the main focus of care providers and telehealth is one such innovative discovery. It allows patients to have a speedy recovery and fulfil the unmet needs of patients. Telehealth Industry was once thought as a futuristic plan, but now it plays a significant role in the healthcare industry as people all over the world look for quality, comfort, and convenience. One of the best aspects of telehealth is that it significantly reduces travel time, especially for patients living in remote areas. The explosive growth of telehealth is witnessed by the increasing use of wearable health-tracking and patient health monitoring devices. For instance, blood pressure is the most widely used wearable devices among seniors, in fact these devices are integrated with telehealth programs to deliver effective patient care. Telehealth has changed the present paradigm of care by allowing improved healthcare access such as intensive care and clinical services to remote patients.

Three Upcoming Trends One Should Keep an Eye On

• Awareness About Telehealth

Everyone says that telehealth has transformed the remote healthcare sector or has stirred a revolution in the healthcare industry. But has it really been able to achieve the success it should have? There is still some percentage of the population who want to physically visit a doctor and get treated. Moreover, there are people who don’t even know or have zero knowledge of telehealth. So, telehealth can only transform the remote healthcare space when the majority of people around the world are aware of this remote medicine. Government is actively supporting this service by implementing awareness policies and granting funds so as to make it more accessible and affordable to all. The Dubai Health Authority or DHA adopted 7 main components of telehealth services in September 2019. Some of these include online consultations, usage of e-medical files to see patient’s history, medicine prescription vis telemedicine, and others. Another institution called the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth or OAT actively promotes telehealth services in remote areas through programs such as Telehealth Network Grant Program or TNGP, Telehealth Resource Center Program or TRC, and others.

• Why Travel When You Can Chat with Your Doctor?

Talking about advanced technologies in healthcare, robotics, artificial intelligence, and automation have gained considerable popularity in telehealth services. Getting information in real-time has proven very useful for patients, care providers, and insurance companies. Now, patients can chat in real-time with the introduction of online interactive portals. This brings our attention to a telemedicine app called MDBox which connects doctors and patients through a video chat. Researchers say that investing time in video chat is equivalent to a single doctor’s visit. This app can diagnose the patient’s condition via video chat and prescribe a treatment plan accordingly.

• Millennials to be More Associated with Telehealth

Telehealth is Emerging, but will it Make Progress in the Future?

The digital health industry has come a long way and has started to deliver services effectively after years of practice. Artificial intelligence, machine learning, or automation won’t replace the doctor but will act as an assistant for the diagnosis and treatment. Humans still play a crucial role when it comes in terms of taking decisions. AI can help us in reading the enormous data from wearable or patient monitoring devices, but at the end it is a doctor who suggests us what to do next.  Technology has emerged and telehealth is paving its way into the lives of patients as people love quality and convenience. Telehealth is slowly becoming the doorway to the healthcare needs of people and is likely to make enormous progress in the future.