Providing market intelligence for more than 35 years

What should executives keep in mind as they consider the expanding acceptance of and preference for virtual care delivery among consumers and payers? There are three big considerations that are outlined in Virtual Care Demand Could Test Care Providers’ Health IT Infrastructure In 2015, a piece by Harry Wang, the lead analyst for Parks Associates’ digital health research program, that appeared recently in Computerworld.

  1. The video revolution has its challenges – While traditional patient portals are probably fine, according to Mr. Wang, interactive communications services using video could be a potential area for trouble. The issues to consider include video player configurations and related software challenges, system capabilities and reliability for increased video traffic, and security.
  2. Real-time health information exchange is the expectation – Virtual care increases timely access to professionals, and consumers expect their medical records to keep up. Increasing use of telehealth will highlight the problems of interoperability (see Net Neutrality Is About More Than Streaming Movies and Interoperable Electronic Data Exchange Is Non-Existent Among Long-Term Care Provider Organizations). Consumers expect timely access to past health records, lab tests, and diagnostic imaging.
  3. Dealing with all that remote monitoring data – The most advanced of virtual care systems leverage consumer self-monitoring capabilities, and integrated them into virtual care sessions. It sounds quite simple, but how such data will be fed into electronic health records (EHR) without delay and then compared with similar historical data is no simple matter. And, it is critically important to both the consumer experience and realizing cost savings from e-health.

From the article "The Uphill Climb To Virtual Care" by Monica E. Oss.

Previously In The News

Wi-Fi Certified Smart Home Designs Offered by Lennar Homes: Assurance of Strong, Reliable Home Wi-Fi

According to Parks Associates, more the 12 million households will have a smart water leak detector, more than 40 million will have a smart thermostat, nearly 50 million will have a smart light bulb,...

Evolution of the 4th Utility: Fixed Broadband

In-home broadband has become "the fourth utility" in United States households, many of which have multiple connected devices and viewing screens. More than 85 percent of U.S. homes have broadband serv...

The VR Experience: Challenges for a Growing Market

The various VR technology approaches present unique user experience issues that current-generation VR headsets have yet to solve. Feedback on the user experience from those who own or have tried VR...

Who's Your Buddy? The Evolution of OTT Video Partnerships

Due to the increased competition and number of partnerships, OTT video service penetration will increase by more than 85 million households from 2017 through 2022, Parks Associates has estimated, and...