Nearly three years since the emergence of COVID-19, telemedicine has transformed how we receive medical care, offering numerous advantages to healthcare systems, patients, and physicians.
It broke down barriers to accessing healthcare, allowing everyone to quickly and immediately get the care they need. It also allows primary care providers to reach more people and provide better patient outcomes.
Because of this, the industry continues to observe an upsurge in growth and innovation, even as the rest of the world has learned to adjust to the pandemic.
Innovations in telemedicine, including remote patient monitoring, mobile health applications, and the internet of medical things (IoMT), are likely to drastically alter how we access healthcare in the future.
In this article, we’ll explore some of these trends for telehealth and look at the benefits patients and physicians can gain from them.
Telehealth Trends to Expect in 2023
Below are five of the most impactful telehealth trends you should watch out for this 2023.
1. AI and machine learning in healthcare
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare isn’t new, but its use will definitely continue to accelerate in the years to come.
AI helps healthcare professionals streamline data analysis processes, deliver more precise diagnoses and treatments, and reduce administrative duties for medical staff.
Based on a study by MIT, about 75% of medical staff acknowledge that AI enabled them to make better predictions in disease treatment, and nearly four in five reported that AI helped avert burnout, a common problem among healthcare workers.
Healthcare organizations are also using machine learning algorithms to predict future health risks. Not only that, but doctors can now tap into platforms that use machine learning to provide them with real-time insights into the person’s symptoms using their health records, claims data, and surveys.
2. Remote Patient Monitoring
Remote patient monitoring (RPM) is a technology that transmits information between doctors and patients. It is exceedingly helpful with patients who need monitoring for their health conditions and prevent complications in patients who cannot travel.
RPM devices include wired and wireless devices that remotely track a person’s medical or well-being data collected outside a traditional healthcare setting.
Initially developed for clinical settings, remote monitors and sensors like continuous glucose monitors and pulse oximeters are now available for patients to use at home. With advances in AI and 5G, these devices offer physicians a continuous stream of quality health data they can easily access.
One area many are continuously striving to innovate is the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT). IoMT are devices that allow for real-time remote patient monitoring. These include wearables, trackers, and sensor-based devices.
Nonagon N9+ is an intuitive RPM device that lets patients capture clinically accurate information, including taking high-definition videos of the throat and the inner ear, along with other physical exam data. It also enables patients to connect with their doctors in real time or when it is convenient to share their physical exam data.
3. EHR-based health
An electronic health record is a digital version of a patient’s medical chart. It contains information from all clinicians involved in patient care. This includes medications, laboratory and test results, and treatment plans.
One area of continuous development is EHR mobile software. HIPAA-compliant EHR apps allow patients and providers to access medical data at their convenience. Not only that, but they can securely share this vital health information between each other or with other healthcare team members.
Medical application developers are continuously pushing the boundaries of what is possible by creating applications with various uses. Some apps, like Nonagon, now allow patients to record images or videos that depict their symptoms and share them with their doctor seamlessly, allowing for immediate diagnosis.
4. AR and VR Technologies
The use of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) in healthcare is growing rapidly. AR and VR can provide physicians with a more immersive experience when it comes to diagnostics, patient care, treatments, and educational tools.
Advances in VR technology continue to enhance medical education and practice through educational VR content and platforms.
The use of virtual reality systems in telemedicine makes it possible for surgeons to perform surgeries while thousands of miles away.
In 2020, neurosurgeons performed their first AR surgery on a living patient. They wore headsets consisting of see-through eye displays that projected the patient’s anatomy based on their CT scans.
VR also holds promise for therapy. Therapists can create personalized environments for their patients. An example would be exposure therapy for treating specific phobias in a safe environment.
5 Benefits of Cutting-Edge Telemedicine Innovations
1. Greater convenience
Though it might be easy to assume that people will go back to traditional healthcare once the pandemic is over, telehealth, especially with continuous innovation, has become a viable option due to its convenience and mobility.
In fact, telehealth utilization has stabilized to 38X higher than pre-pandemic levels, showing that patients and providers value the convenience of telemedicine.
With telemedicine, appointments are typically much faster—there’s no need to travel, find a babysitter, or sit in a waiting room.
Case in point, virtual consultations are very convenient for working parents who juggle home responsibilities and childcare with a full-time job.
With innovations in telemedicine, busy people can now easily communicate with their provider anytime, right from their mobile device!
2. Improved system-efficiency
Telemedicine has improved the healthcare system in many ways.
It helps alleviate the burden on hospital staff. In a study, telemedicine triage allowed healthcare professionals to serve 97 percent of patients without face-to-face contact, greatly relieving the healthcare facility’s burden.
Telemedicine can also save practitioners time. Late or no-show patients result in time lost for practitioners and rob new patients of the doctor’s time. A study revealed that patients are less likely to miss their telemedicine appointments than in-person visits.
Mobile health apps make setting appointments much easier, removing the likelihood of no-shows and avoids disruptions in both the doctor and the patient’s schedules.
With improvements in EHR-based health, doctors can quickly follow up, inspect and monitor their patient’s health. It helps them get the necessary information from their patients quickly and provide more personalized care.
3. Boost in patient and provider satisfaction
Providing telemedicine can lower overhead costs by eliminating practitioners’ travel and clinic rentals. This reduction in office visit times not only allows physicians to serve more patients but can potentially improve their work-life balance, too.
One physician survey found that one-third of physicians experience either improved work-life balance or improved symptoms of burnout thanks to telemedicine.
Most importantly, telemedicine has been found to have a high patient satisfaction rate. In fact, telemedicine visits continue to be extensively used across nearly all medical specialties, with visits from October 2020 having a 3000% increase compared to visits in 2019.
4. Wider accessibility
Telemedicine removes the barriers associated with traditional medical services, including distance, time constraints, the lack of available specialists, and personal barriers to accessing care, like age, physical or mental disability, and health conditions.
The technology allows patients to tap into medical care wherever and whenever they need it. This includes people in remote or rural areas, incarcerated individuals, and older adults.
In fact, a 2021 national survey released by the Bipartisan Policy Center shows that older adults had almost double the rate of telehealth visits than those under 30 and that rural residents were more than twice as likely to use telehealth for surgical consultations than residents of non-rural areas.
In one research article, physicians shared how telemedicine helped ensure that older adult patients receive timely care. They described how “without telehealth, patients would have completely forgone visits during the pandemic, with potentially devastating consequences on individuals’ health,” which brings us to our next point…
5. Improved patient outcomes
Medical professionals leverage telemedicine to improve their patient outcomes significantly. It lets them monitor their patients continuously, make critical clinical decisions remotely, and implement treatments that can help prolong or sustain life.
For example, the increasing adoption of telemedicine among nursing homes improved older adults’ vital signs (such as heart rate and blood pressure) and reduced the need to use physical or chemical restraints (when they are a danger to themselves, others, or both) and hospital admissions.
It also helps doctors remotely monitor patients with chronic conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, hypertension, and diabetes, resulting in better management and ultimately reducing hospitalizations.
Since telemedicine allows patients to receive follow-ups more efficiently, it can also reduce readmission rates after discharge.
Endless possibilities for healthcare
Telemedicine is revolutionizing the healthcare industry and making care more accessible than ever. With AI, machine learning, and 5G networks, healthcare providers can now use telemedicine for various services, from diagnosis to remote surgery.
It also relieves some burdens on healthcare facilities by providing more efficient care with reduced overhead costs and improved patient outcomes. The possibilities are endless – only time will tell what the future of telemedicine holds.
Want to experience the ease and convenience of telemedicine? With Nonagon’s N9+, you can access your health data securely and connect with your preferred physician wherever you are. Learn more about how Nonagon works.
