Top 10 Tech Trends: Is Telehealth Going Mainstream?

Can Telehealth Reach Its Potential?

Roy Schoenberg, M.D., CEO of the Boston-based American Well Systems, a telehealth solutions provider, sees several things happening that will “liberate” telehealth and bring greater clarity to the marketplace. Previously telehealth was confused with telemedicine, which involves clinicians using telecommunications—for instance a rural hospital taking advantage of the skills of a radiology team at an academic medical center. Telehealth, brings consumers into the equation and the patients have access whether at home, a retail setting or in the workplace, he says. It got a bad name a decade ago when Internet pharmacies started popping up and prescribing drugs improperly. There was a backlash and legislatures created laws to shut them down.

“But in 2012 we saw a breath of fresh air and a recognition that under the right circumstances and following the same rules doctors use in a clinic setting, the same licensing and documentation requirements, telehealth can live up to its promise,” Schoenberg says.

Fifteen states have now passed legislation that specifically authorizes reimbursement for telehealth services. At the federal level, a comprehensive telehealth reimbursement bill introduced at the very end of the 112th Congress will be re-introduced this year, he believes.

Payers such as WellPoint have recognized telehealth is critical in terms of their level of patient services, he adds. “It is like having a live doctor in your medicine cabinet, and that changes the offering with a very tangible benefit,” Schoenberg says. “Employers who have a stake in the financial cost of employees’ health also are seeing it as a productivity gain. All of these activities are exciting and it really feels like the pieces of the puzzle are coming together. It is very much going mainstream.”