In its report, the company “cites a number of factors driving this growth: a worldwide shortage of healthcare workers, innovations in Internet of Things technology, rising demand for remote health and increased use of smartphones”. Emergen contends the software segment of the telemedicine sector will see the fastest growth in revenue over the next nine years, while the services segment will be the largest contributor of revenue overall. It is also added that the “telehome segment will see a jump in revenue during the same period, thanks in part to an aging population, “as telehome services offer a convenient way for older adults, who are often managing chronic illnesses, to access healthcare from the comfort of their homes.” It is mentioned that “telemedicine was first popularized as an alternative to in-person care during the pandemic, but has since become a fixture for patients.”
As per this survey, “Patient participation in telehealth in this time period ranges between around 30% and 40%, not far below the roughly 50% share seen with monthly in-person visits. Both figures remained relatively stable during 2022 and 2023, although telehealth had trended up and physical visits had scaled down more recently”. “As this popularity might suggest, telemedicine has turned out to be a profitable venture for participating businesses. UnitedHealthcare and its Optum unit saw particular growth last year in its home health offerings and is on track to serve 4 million patients in 2023, nearly double that in 2021,”
Allison Bentley from PYMNTS said, “We know the U.S. healthcare system can be difficult to navigate, especially when dealing with high reliance on private insurance and the need to see different specialists, who have more and more limited appointment availability, which makes the process even more complex. We took that into account and wanted to address it by offering an accessible and affordable solution for consumers across the nation.” and added that “After years of research, it was clear how necessary ‘supplemental virtual healthcare’ is for many consumers”. The fact that some retailers such as Costco and Walmart have embraced virtual health is also a sign that the telemedicine is here to stay and grow on even more.
