There is no question that the wearables market is taking off with the proliferation of health monitors, pedometers and activity trackers like Fitbit, Jawbone, Nike Fuelband, etc. And next year the Apple Watch will likely make the wearable watch the next big thing. Gartner boldly predicted that companies using Glass and similar wearable gadgets could save up to $1 billion a year within the next three to five years.
The year of 2014 was a big year for telemedicine. The idea of using technology to provide remote health care has been around for years, but it really started to take off this year with the proliferation of wearable devices, and providers starting to embrace seeing patients through video chat.
The market will see growth at 18.88 percent CAGR, from 2014 to 2019, according to ReportsnReports.com.
For states with large rural populations, telehealth has emerged as a cost-effective alternative to traditional face-to-face consultations or examinations between provider and patient. Telehealth is defined as “the use of technology to deliver health care, health information or health education at a distance.”
Effective telemedicine solutions must be reliable, secure and deliver a user-friendly experience.
Medicare will cover remote-patient monitoring of chronic conditions. Previously, Medicare didn’t pay for separately for such services, requiring that such billing be bundled with an “evaluation and management” code,” according to the ATA.
The use of telemedicine programs by employers could potentially save U.S. companies about $6 billion annually, according to a recent survey by the professional services firm Towers Watson.