Telemedicine

When the character Elroy came down with “Venus virus” on the futuristic cartoon The Jetsons in 1962, his mom called the doctor – who appeared in the living room via a video screen. Actual telemedicine, health care delivered from a distance, was in its infancy at the time, but the real thing has more or less caught up with that vision. Until recently, its impact was limited by concerns for safety, accuracy and privacy. Now, because of the coronavirus pandemic, its use has skyrocketed as people across the world eschew visiting a doctor’s office out of fear of exposure to the novel pathogen.

When the coronavirus hit, medical practitioners started ramping up their virtual offerings – notably appointments via videoconferencing apps such as FaceTime and Zoom – as a way to continue caring for patients and keep their businesses alive. At the same time, regulators loosened the rules that had restricted telemedicine. In the U.S., for example, officials eased enforcement of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which sets strict privacy standards. Also, government insurance programs Medicare and Medicaid expanded the types of services covered and began paying for virtual visits at the higher, in-person rate. A report from McKinsey & Co. in June concluded that 46% of consumers in the U.S. were using telemedicine, up from 11% a year earlier. Industry analysts expect the trend toward acceptance to continue. Coronavirus will likely remain a health threat for the next several years, until immunity gained from vaccines and infections is widespread globally. By then, telemedicine is likely to be an embedded part of the health-care ecosystem. McKinsey estimated that with changes such as replacing 20% of emergency room visits and 25% of health-care office visits, telemedicine eventually could account for a fifth of all Medicare, Medicaid and commercial insurance spending on outpatient, office and home health care. That would amount to $250 billion in 2020, compared with the $3 billion the industry generated annually in the U.S. before coronavirus hit.