RXMD ‘ s future?
It’s the fastest that any technology has reached critical mass — and our resident futurist Robert Williams says it’s not too late to get in.
“For thousands of years, doctors and patients had shared intimate, in-person relationships,” he explains. “In the immediate aftermath of COVID-19, however, 80% of checkups were suddenly being conducted over the internet.”
Shortly after former President Trump declared the pandemic a national emergency on March 13, 2020, the federal government expanded Medicare to include telehealth benefits.
Fifty-nine days after that declaration, the managed-care giant Kaiser Permanente disclosed that 80% of its routine doctor visits had become virtual — compared with 15% pre-COVID.
Bob says it’s “absolutely uncanny” for any technology to zoom from a 10–15% adoption rate to 80% in 59 days. In a little over eight weeks, the pandemic blew away every objection people might have had. OK, almost every objection…
Telemedicine
Compare it with, say, the telephone — which took 59 years. That’s how long it took to go from a 10% adoption rate in 1903… to 80% by 1962.
59 Years to 80%
“Talk about a breakthrough technology: Telehealth grew 36,400% faster than the telephone,” says Bob.
The gap isn’t quite so extreme when examining other technologies: The automobile took 55 years to reach 80% adoption by 1970. It took home air conditioning 45 years, reaching 80% by 2002.
Even when you’re looking at present-day high-tech marvels, it took the internet 19 years — reaching 80% penetration by 2012. Social media? Twelve years, hitting the 80% threshold in 2017. The smartphone? Ten years, going from 10% in 2009 to 80% only two years ago. Nothing like that had ever been achieved before.
“Yet,” Bob points out, “telehealth grew 6,086% faster than smartphones.”
“See, telehealth is one of those rare industries that mutually benefit all of the parties involved,” he goes on.
The patient, the patient’s employer, the insurer, the doctor and/or hospital? No one’s a loser. Is there anything else about the U.S. health care system about which you can say that?
Bob sees several drivers for telehealth as 2021 rolls on — not least, higher internet speeds. In addition, there’s the proliferation of stay-at-home medical devices that monitor a patient’s heart rate, insulin levels and so on — transmitting that data to providers in real-time.
There is a potential speed bump coming next month: Medicare’s embrace of telehealth has an expiration date of April 21. But there’s legislation in Congress that would make the change permanent.
“Because telehealth is so rare in its ability to attract bipartisan support — especially in our currently toxic political climate — I believe the bill will pass,” Bob tells us.
“Upon receiving congressional approval, the Telehealth Act would only require President Biden’s signature to become federal law, officially unleashing a torrent of investment dollars into telehealth technologies and stocks.”
