Telehealth Services in USA

According to the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) there are more than 200 telehealth networks connecting some 2,000 institutions across the country.

In 2008, a Forrester Research survey found that more than half of U.S. online consumers never heard of Internet-based health monitoring services that help manage chronic conditions, or home-based monitoring solutions for aging, ill, or disabled family members.
Health care benefits of live videoconferencing are improved access to specialty care for rural and underserved patients-earlier diagnosis and intervention for chronic conditions, fewer redundancies in tests, lab work, and exams, reduced cost of care by up to 6% overall, but 42% for follow-up care, reduced wait times, improved training and education of medical interns.

Telemedicine applications allow doctors and hospitals to share and send video telecommunications, as well as X-ray and digital images, to other doctors and hospitals located in other parts of the country, thereby giving patients, especially those living in remote communities, better quality of care and increased convenience. Broadband services work to facilitate medical access to and advice from multiple medical specialists.

Using a remote monitoring system with high-resolution video and real time data on patient vitals, one doctor is able to treat multiple patients in the ICU at once. Using this type of medicine at Johns Hopkins “cut ICU deaths by 50% and saved 90 lives annually.

Sources: Doty, Carlton A., “Delivering Care Anytime, Anywhere; Telehealth Alters the Medical Ecosystem.” Forrester Research for the California Healthcare Foundation. November, 2008. Fuhr, Joseph P. Jr. Broadband Services: Economic and Environmental Benefits. American Consumer Institute. October 2007