The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of IT solutions in healthcare. In particular, more people have accepted teleconsultations with healthcare providers -- including medical diagnoses performed through mobile apps and/or videoconferences.
For more than a year, people were unable to access healthcare resources onsite due to either their virus vulnerability or because lockdown restrictions meant that they were unable to leave their homes.
Numerous governments responded to the closure of healthcare facilities by loosening previous regulatory restrictions on the practice of telemedicine and online teleconsultations.
Telemedicine Services Market Development
According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, the number of teleconsultations performed globally will reach 765 million in 2025 -- that's rising from 422 million in 2021, representing 80 percent growth.
The study found that, for teleconsultation services to become an integral element of healthcare provision, platforms must develop solutions that cater to different capacities of regional healthcare sectors.
Juniper's analysis identified cloud computing services and 5G wireless connectivity as key to enabling local healthcare providers to benefit from the advancement of remote teleconsultation technologies.
Juniper believes that the average patient will use teleconsultation services ~3.6 times per year. However, the need for mobile devices and internet access will limit the adoption of services to developed regions.
Juniper believes that the average patient will use teleconsultation services ~3.6 times per year. However, the need for mobile devices and internet access will limit the adoption of services to developed regions.
Therefore, Juniper analysts now predict that over 50 percent of healthcare teleconsultations will occur in North America and European markets by 2025.
"Teleconsultation services require high bandwidth, which is often unavailable in developing regions; limiting the impacts of services in these areas," said Adam Wears, research analyst at Juniper Research.
Regardless, according to the Juniper assessment, 5G telecom technologies can be used as a last-mile solution to enable service provision in areas where internet connectivity is sparse or inadequate.
Juniper also acknowledged that, by virtue of their ability to streamline administrative and patient-facing tasks, telemedicine technologies are capable of delivering significant cost savings for healthcare providers, worth over $21 billion by 2025 globally.
Outlook for Telehealth Platform Use Case Growth
Juniper predicts that the integration of consumer healthcare wearables into teleconsultation services will enable healthcare providers to obtain patient health data, without the need for an in-person visit.
Juniper analysts urge more telehealth platform vendors to develop secure cloud-based services that are capable of storing healthcare patient information in full compliance with government regulations.
That said, I anticipate more healthcare provider CIOs and CTOs will use the current IT investment trend as an opportunity to explore technologies that further reduce costs and improve productivity. Ongoing adoption of digital workspace solutions within the healthcare sector is an example of use case growth.