Non-Uniform Reimbursement Policies Declining the Telemedicine Market
Telemedicine is defined as the use of medical information exchanged from one site to another via electronic communications to improve patient's health status according to the American Telemedicine Association telemedicine software development. The potential benefits of telemedicine are so far reaching that it is developing fast and, becoming increasingly known.
The major trends in the telemedicine
market is the increasing demand for mobility anytime, anywhere acts as a major
growth factor. The need to reduce healthcare costs, decreasing supply of
physicians and reimbursement issues are currently the trending factors in the
telemedicine market. Reimbursement framework has been changing on a regional
basis and this proper lack of uniformity has been an issue in the product
development category of the telemedicine market. There are certain areas where
the scenario is pro-telemedicine and certain regions where it is against the
concept of telemedicine.
There are many states debating the
telemedicine reimbursement and access. New legislation is being encouraged as
the technology has a strong base and has become a normal healthcare service.
Recently, In Washington state, a new bill has become a law. This law would
expand the number of telemedicine services to the insurance providers and
Medicaid will have to reimburse. This will improve the patient quality of life
and reduce healthcare costs. It has been passed unanimously.
Whereas the scenario is totally
different in other regions where the viewpoint totally negates the Washington
state's law. The Arkansas House of representatives has voted down on a bill
which allows telemedicine companies to offer services. Certain changes were
incorporated which allows the limited use of telemedicine. The bill was passed
on these grounds. It can be clearly said that different viewpoints towards the
potential use of telemedicine in healthcare is a case of uncertainty for the
medical companies in manufacturing their products and this will result in the
decline of the market.
However, in other regions where
telemedicine is an integral part of the healthcare industry, rapid
technological advances are booming the market growth. In a bid to reduce the
average healthcare ER costs for patients, telemedicine has created a medium
where retail medical clinics are coming in to the picture. A patient can get
the same treatment in the clinic from a virtual physician at reduced costs.
This dynamic shift has been considered a threat by the traditional healthcare
industry.
Organizations such as WorldClinic, Whole Foods, Walgreens and CVS have gotten
into the act of retail medical clinics by posting their prices on the
web.Fortune 500 companies and other large employers are also opening up on-site
clinics in an effort to reduce healthcare costs and provide added benefits to
employees telemedicine app development company.
Global market leaders are also
constantly innovating on their product categories. Recently, AMD Global
Telemedicine announced the release of cameras and scope systems for the purpose
of telemedicine. CloudVisit Telemedicine launched their mobile app, an on-the
Go telemedicine solution.
Things are looking bright for the
Telemedicine industry and will look even brighter if the reimbursement policy
is uniform throughout.
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