Is telemedicine set to expire this year? What’s next for telemedicine providers and how you can prepare

As payers, healthcare providers, and patients are seeking more sustainable, patient-centric, and accessible care models, telemedicine in the U.S. is emerging as a viable approach to healthcare delivery:

???? As of 2024, over 78% of hospitals have installed a telemedicine solution.

???? Around 12% of mental health providers have gone virtual-only since 2020.

?????? Telebehavioral healthcare jumped from 42% in the first quarter of 2020 to almost 73% in the fourth quarter of 2023.

The surge in telehealth adoption can be attributed to the numerous benefits it offers, including:

• Direct and indirect cost reduction — virtual visits can save patients $141 per visit when compared with an in-person urgent care visit and $120 on a specialist visit.
• Improved access to care — 65% of U.S. patients name convenience as the top reason for URL visits, with 46% saying they use telehealth due to the ability to receive care quickly.
• Enhanced patient experience — 54% of patients report increased satisfaction with their care thanks to telemedicine.

However, without legislative action, telehealth could lose its current appeal and coverage at the end of 2024 as temporary Medicare changes are reaching their?expiration date . If that’s the case, telemedicine will become limited to specific rural areas and physical locations.

And that’s not the only wrench thrown into telehealth.

The good news? It’s all curable.

Barrier #1: Technology

Although telemedicine is heralded as an enabler, it can actually turn out to be the exact opposite in today’s still not-so-tech-savvy healthcare ecosystem.

?? Over 70% of healthcare providers still use outdated information systems — this can lead to technical incompatibility with telemedicine technologies due to the lack of standardized data formats.

?? Telehealth technology often fails to connect with EHR systems, resulting in the lack of seamless data exchange between the systems (i.e., diagnoses, prescriptions, and clinical notes from virtual appointments aren’t automatically synced with patient records).

How to clear this barrier. Telemedicine providers should adopt standardized data formats such as HL7 FHIR or USCDI, along with standardized APIs, to facilitate the exchange of structured data.?

Barrier #2: Data security and red tape?

Telemedicine can be disruptive in a good way — but also in a bad way, where it undermines the security of sensitive patient data and puts the company’s reputation at risk, exposing it to severe penalties.

• After failing to protect the PHI from unauthorized disclosure, Cerebral , an online mental health platform, faced $5 million in customer redress and a $10 million civil penalty.?

• Incidents like the one involving Cerebral are probably why over 50% of buyers consider HIPAA compliance a non-negotiable feature in telemedicine software.?
• For 15% of individuals, data security concerns are why they are hesitant to adopt virtual care.
• In 2023, the number of healthcare data breaches reached an all-time high, with 725 large-scale incidents reported to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR).

As far as data security requirements go, telemedicine companies face an evolving regulatory landscape where they have to either:

?? Align with insurance plans and, therefore, comply with HIPAA

or

?? Adopt a cash-only model and grapple with complex state-by-state data privacy laws (at least till the American Privacy Rights Act of 2024 is passed).

But it’s not that simple. Most state data privacy laws have full or partial exemptions for businesses and data regulated by HIPAA or other federal laws like the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act. On the bright side, if you’re a HIPAA-compliant telemedicine company, you may be exempt from some state-level data privacy laws.

So, any way you slice it, HIPAA compliance is a necessity.

How to clear this barrier. In addition to staying up-to-date on regulatory changes, you need to adopt iron-clad standards for patient data security, implement advanced data encryption and compliance measures, and educate patients on data privacy and security. We also recommend involving a health technology vendor that has a comprehensive compliance program.?

Barrier #3: Reimbursement and payment models

Some healthcare players argue that telehealth is unlikely to become a fixture in healthcare unless URL visits are reimbursed at the same rate as IRL visits. But insurers aren’t falling for payment parity, explaining that telemedicine operating costs are lower compared with in-person services.?

This duality breeds uncertainty among providers and patients alike.

?? The clock is ticking: some of telehealth flexibilities have been made permanent by health insurance programs while others are expiring at the end of December, and their final fate is still unknown.

But the gains demonstrated by the usage of telemedicine platforms may tip the scales in favor of virtual care:

?? In a study about the long-term impact of telehealth published in 2024, researchers think that policymakers are unlikely to restrict payments for Medicare patients after all, given the positive impact of telehealth on healthcare access and quality, especially for those with chronic conditions.

How to clear this barrier. Telemedicine providers can invest in data infrastructure to give decision-makers the data they need to prove the ROI of virtual care and to put the long-term benefits of telehealth on a sharp display. On a government level, incentives need to be aligned for providers, patients, and payers.

Barrier #4: Limited accessibility for certain groups

Telemedicine is a blessing for some but inaccessible for others.

The lack of video sharing technology, spotty internet connectivity, language barriers, lack of accessibility, and other factors prevent certain patient groups from enjoying the benefits of virtual care.

?? Twenty-five percent of consumers report difficulty with internet/cellular connectivity (25%) being the top barrier to receiving telehealth.

?? According to research , telemedicine adoption rates are lower in communities with higher rates of poverty and among patients with limited English proficiency.

???? According to this analysis , most telemedicine platforms have accessibility gaps, which makes them challenging or impossible to navigate for certain patient groups.

How to clear this barrier. To address the digital divide, telemedicine platforms need to be developed with accessibility in mind. This includes complying with WCAG guidelines, WHO-ITU Global standard for accessibility of telehealth services, and regional accessibility standards and regulations. When it comes to AI-based technologies such as speech recognition and predictive algorithms, it's essential to prioritize equity and avoid biases.

What else does it take to make healthcare professionals choose your telemedicine platform over others?

Since 2011, Orangesoft has been a trusted tech partner for innovative healthcare startups, helping them bring digital health solutions to the market. From our experience, the following essentials (besides those mentioned above) can ensure the longevity of your telemedicine platform in 2024 and beyond:

• All-in-one interface — the ability to access various functionalities, such as appointment management and patient documentation, from one screen eliminates the back-and-forth between multiple tools for healthcare professionals.
• Scalability by design — opting for scalability in architecture, infrastructure, integrations, databases, video conferencing, and other elements of telemedicine allow companies to accommodate growing needs without compromising the performance of their telemedicine solutions.?
• Granular customizations — enable both healthcare providers and patients to use telemedicine on their own terms by providing hyper customization in workflows, reporting, analytics, user profiles, and other areas.
• Advanced features — successful telemedicine platforms are innovation-ready, integrating automated coding, remote patient monitoring capabilities, e-prescribing, voice-to-text capabilities, and other cutting-edge features that tackle the unique challenges of telehealth practices.

If you need help developing or improving your virtual care solutions, reach out to the Orangesoft team. We’ll make sure your digital health solution has everything needed to effectively navigate current barriers and provide an accessible, compliant, and tech-savvy bridge to care.

More on the topic:

Best telehealth apps in 2024

Will telemedicine stagnate without regulatory reform?

Why telehealth needs a different ROI

What the data says about the telehealth market