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The Rapid Rise of Telemedicine Technology and 5G Impacts
November 03, 2020
Telemedicine – medical services and information distributed electronically or through telecommunication technology to enable remote care – is helping more people access medical help by reducing the need to seek in-person care.
While telemedicine technology isn’t new, the arrival of COVID-19 and sweeping stay-at-home orders mean that physicians are turning to telemedicine to engage with their patients on a much greater scale than we’ve seen until now. These days, unless the need for hands-on medical attention is immediately obvious, a phone appointment with a doctor or nurse is often the first step in seeking medical care — telemedicine in action.
Accessibility is a major benefit of telemedicine. Not only does it enable patients to speak to a professional without leaving home or work, it makes healthcare accessible to those who have limited mobility or transportation resources. It also allows care to be arranged much more quickly, since doctors and nurses can meet with more people in a shorter amount of time and don’t have to account for the transition time between in-person appointments or patients running late.
Of course, in offering an alternative to in-person appointments, telemedicine also presents a significant benefit: eliminating the risk of infection that exists when patients visit medical facilities. This safety measure is valuable at any point in time, but none more so than during a global pandemic.
Surveys of healthcare practitioners also show heightened interest in telehealth services. In April 2020, IQVIA surveyed 300 oncologists, specialists, and primary care providers who reported that patient interaction done via telehealth appointments increased from 9% to 51% during the pandemic, and they expected it to remain at 21 percent after the pandemic ends.
The expectation of connectivity is forcing network operators and telecommunications companies to reevaluate their 5G deployment plans and adjust their service offerings — but delivering serious benefits. For example, in healthcare, physical distancing and patient volumes are driving demand for connectivity, and the provision of 5G-enabled ultra-reliable low-latency communication (uRLLC) enhances time-sensitive telemedicine and remote patient monitoring. In other words, 5G connectivity ultimately enables access to medical care while eliminating the risk of viral exposure.
Another healthcare-related benefit of 5G is that enhanced security from network slicing can enable the rapid scaling of temporary physical, mental and geriatric healthcare facilities. The technology can also support autonomous medical-cleaning robots, thus reducing the risk of worker exposure, and as alluded to above, reduces the demand for hospital beds by enabling reliable connections for at-home patient care.
Hardware and software will also be impacted by all of these innovations. For the most part, hospitals and the telemedicine industry have used proprietary technology to deliver services to patients. However, that may soon change with the advent of easy-to-use and widely distributed secure telemedicine software. These solutions are user-friendly and are far more affordable than implementing proprietary systems, so we expect to see secure third-party platforms become the norm in the telemedicine industry sooner rather than later.
While telemedicine technology isn’t new, the arrival of COVID-19 and sweeping stay-at-home orders mean that physicians are turning to telemedicine to engage with their patients on a much greater scale than we’ve seen until now. These days, unless the need for hands-on medical attention is immediately obvious, a phone appointment with a doctor or nurse is often the first step in seeking medical care — telemedicine in action.
Increased Usage & Benefits
In addition to more people choosing telemedicine to communicate or interact with their doctors, more people than ever have access to such services. Due to the pandemic, Medicare patients have been given temporary waivers to leverage telehealth services, making usage skyrocket. A report from McKinsey & Co. supports this, estimating that physicians have seen between 50 and 175 times more patients via telehealth technology in April than they did prior to the pandemic.Accessibility is a major benefit of telemedicine. Not only does it enable patients to speak to a professional without leaving home or work, it makes healthcare accessible to those who have limited mobility or transportation resources. It also allows care to be arranged much more quickly, since doctors and nurses can meet with more people in a shorter amount of time and don’t have to account for the transition time between in-person appointments or patients running late.
Of course, in offering an alternative to in-person appointments, telemedicine also presents a significant benefit: eliminating the risk of infection that exists when patients visit medical facilities. This safety measure is valuable at any point in time, but none more so than during a global pandemic.
A New Norm?
While telemedicine technology doesn’t solve all problems, it is quickly becoming more dependable and popular. Telemedicine urgent-care visits are up an eye-popping 490% this year, telehealth technology used for contact tracing is helping track and contain COVID-19, the telemedicine market in North America is projected to reach $35 billion USD by 2025, according to Statista, and a McKinsey survey regarding consumer interest in telehealth services showed a drastic shift, from 11% in 2019 to 76% in 2020.
Surveys of healthcare practitioners also show heightened interest in telehealth services. In April 2020, IQVIA surveyed 300 oncologists, specialists, and primary care providers who reported that patient interaction done via telehealth appointments increased from 9% to 51% during the pandemic, and they expected it to remain at 21 percent after the pandemic ends.
How Does 5G Impact Telemedicine?
Beyond phone appointments with healthcare providers, telemedicine technology has some advanced use cases that impact network providers. Workplaces, schools and the public health arena are driving the demand for enhanced capacity, bandwidth and latency, as distributed groups of workers, students and patients communicate from home and across scattered geographic locations.The expectation of connectivity is forcing network operators and telecommunications companies to reevaluate their 5G deployment plans and adjust their service offerings — but delivering serious benefits. For example, in healthcare, physical distancing and patient volumes are driving demand for connectivity, and the provision of 5G-enabled ultra-reliable low-latency communication (uRLLC) enhances time-sensitive telemedicine and remote patient monitoring. In other words, 5G connectivity ultimately enables access to medical care while eliminating the risk of viral exposure.
Another healthcare-related benefit of 5G is that enhanced security from network slicing can enable the rapid scaling of temporary physical, mental and geriatric healthcare facilities. The technology can also support autonomous medical-cleaning robots, thus reducing the risk of worker exposure, and as alluded to above, reduces the demand for hospital beds by enabling reliable connections for at-home patient care.
Hardware and software will also be impacted by all of these innovations. For the most part, hospitals and the telemedicine industry have used proprietary technology to deliver services to patients. However, that may soon change with the advent of easy-to-use and widely distributed secure telemedicine software. These solutions are user-friendly and are far more affordable than implementing proprietary systems, so we expect to see secure third-party platforms become the norm in the telemedicine industry sooner rather than later.
In Summary
It’s clear that we’re about to see a big shift in the accessibility of healthcare, and with it, new norms may develop around how we expect to interact with healthcare providers. Changes in telemedicine technology will be enabled and enhanced by 5G networks, making for an even more connected world. What do you think about all this? Is telemedicine something you’ve been excited to see unfold on a larger scale, or do you prefer traditional ways of communicating with doctors?
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