Get Used to It: Remote Care Is the New Norm

After living through the past 2-3 months at home, remote care feels just like remote work does: a no-brainer. It is quite frustrating that a global crisis had to lead to this point. Just like in the case of (especially higher) education, people now start to realize how to leverage the tools that have already been there for a while. Once considered science fiction, remote care is today’s new standard. Let me show you how.

There are many good examples of remote care solutions. It can connect patients and doctors without the need to travel (did you know that in Alaska patient records can only be transported on a sled with a Husky team if the internet connection is down?!). It can offer remote counseling and health advice in the form of an app, even providing live, on-demand video visits or medical A.I. consultation. And it can cover night shifts for physicians and nurses by delivering care from the other side of the Earth. The question is obvious: why haven’t we used it more before?

For those who are not familiar with the term ‘telemedicine’, here is the shortest definition ever:

A Paradigm Shift in Care

The novel coronavirus made healthcare professionals retrace their way of thinking. It did disrupt the systems, and forced health networks to rehash their telemedicine concepts. Not only that: in order to protect medical professionals from the virus, the need for remote technologies skyrocketed. If you needed to go to your physician over the past weeks, first you had to call in and describe your symptoms. Isn’t this the first step of remote care?But hospitals and even some governments went beyond that. 

Source: publichealth.jmir.org

Take the case of Catalonia. The Spanish region of 7.5M inhabitants has always been one of the frontrunners of digital health technologies. Health information was handled electronically already in the 1990s! They integrated personal glucose meters and data from mobile apps and devices into their Digital Health Platform years ago. And although Spain was one of the countries which were hit hardest by the COVID-19, Catalonia was quick to turn to digital health technologies facing the pandemic. 

“You can’t stop the change, any more than you can stop the suns from setting”

It is important to note that facing COVID-19, the reason why Catalonia could act fast was not only because they were ready technologically. They were ready due to their medical education. Because the entire digital health reform is not a matter of technology. It is a cultural transformation. Contrary to popular belief, disruptive technologies cannot bring change on their own. These need changes in the system as well as in stakeholders’ attitude.

More than 5 million physicians are currently missing from healthcare systems, says the WHO. And you don’t need to be a futurist to tell that there will be a surge in these numbers, not necessarily because there will be more sick people but because more and more people will gain access to healthcare whatsoever. There is no way to avoid the rise of telemedicine. And Rise It Does.

The Rise Of Digital Technologies after COVID-19

Well-known health correspondent Christina Farr first thought it was a typo when she saw how the virtual visit numbers of a telehealth company rose between 2019 and 2020. And indeed, there has been a gigantic surge in the use of telemedicine, in particular virtual visits in the US. Over the past 3 months, telehealth usage has tripled, mainly because people were simply afraid to go to the doctor. For example Teladoc, a company that offers medical visits online and over the phone experienced a surge of 92% (!) in remote health visits. As a result, the value of remote care companies began to rise. 

Another part of the issue in the US is Medicaid: CMS started reimbursing telemedicine services just before COVID hit, in January 2020. According to a study, only one in 10 patients used telehealth options in the US in 2019. In 2020? Some providers reported a 650% growth in one state! And overall satisfaction rate with telehealth was at 89%, as of a US survey in May. It is clear that even with COVID gone, telemedicine will stay. 

Post-COVID Life: A Life Yet Uncertain

It is not yet known how we will tackle the global pandemic. What is certain is that masks, social distancing and a general fear will most likely remain with us for quite a while – and even some technologies, too. We will also be less likely willing to go to the hospital or even to go see our own GP, probably for years to come. When (and definitely not ‘if’) telemedicine systems are set up, more and more people will try it. And as we have seen the numbers above, they will stick to it. They will not wait for hours to see a doctor. They’d rather stay at home and do chores while waiting for the doctor online! And they won’t travel to a point of care if it’s in their pockets.

What’s for sure is that telemedicine is faster, cheaper and can also be better streamlined. And it’s definitely a better solution for both the patient and the doctor. Patients will still need real doctors to give answers to their questions. And doctors will have more time on their hands – and possibly experiencing less burnout. Looks like a win-win situation, doesn't it?

Use the Force, Luke

I wish moving on to digital health solutions would be as easy as this. What is definite is that we’ll see more and more solutions becoming the norm, and that will make more and more patients use these. We have the ability to make use of these solutions as we must all become empowered and knowledgeable patients, thereby bring the future upon ourselves. 

By becoming the so-called “Superpatients”, we take the first step into the age of medical digitalisation. We ourselves need to find what solutions are available in our regions/insurers or GP and take on from there. Sounds difficult? It isn’t – Estonian Grandmas can do it. Because as it seems, telemedicine is going to be the new norm. Let's get used to it.

Dr. Bertalan Mesko, PhD is The Medical Futurist and Director of The Medical Futurist Institute analyzing how science fiction technologies can become reality in medicine and healthcare. As a geek physician with a PhD in genomics, he is a keynote speaker and an Amazon Top 100 author.

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