Written by Natalie Moore on Oct 22, 2014
Google Joins the Telemedicine Movement
The telemedicine market is estimated to reach $27.3 billion by 2016, but will it become a movement? If Google’s latest move is any indication then it already has.
Web-side Manner: The Ongoing Evolution of Telemedicine
Telemedicine has been around for more than a decade, but thought leaders in the healthcare community see the industry evolving quickly with the latest developments in mobile technology, and the unaddressed needs of U.S. patients.
“Telemedicine services have the potential to increase access to care and reduce costs for the patient,” notes Researcher, Samara Mohammed. “Only one in five Americans can easily access a primary care physician. That leaves a staggering 253 million Americans who are in some form or another considered medically underserved.”
According to Mohammed, about 21% of the U.S. population resides in rural areas and only 10% of physicians serve those regions. Google’s entry into healthcare could help to balance those numbers:
“When you’re searching for basic health information — from conditions like insomnia or food poisoning — our goal is [to] provide you with the most helpful information available…We’re trying this new feature to see if it’s useful to people.” – Google Spokesperson
Google is currently in the process of testing its telemedicine feature. The telemdeicine trial is free, but currently only available in California and Massachusetts.
How does Google’s Telemedicine work?
So how does the telemedicine feature work? When a symptom or ailment is searched via Google, the option to ‘talk with a doctor now’ is revealed. This is accompanied by a the following message prompt:
“Based on your search query, we think you are trying to understand a medical condition. Here you can find health care providers who you can visit with over video chat.”
CBS reported on how these doctor-patient ‘visits’ occur, referring to the telemedicine phenomenon as ‘web-side manner’.
Physicians who offer telemedicine engage their patients in video chats through which they are able to observe certain symptoms much like they would in-office.
“We’re able to see tonsils and skin rashes and conjunctivitis…I don’t think that would make much of a difference online rather than being in person,” Dr. Lauralee Yalden told CBS.
The news network also reported that 22 percent of healthcare employees are in the business of offering telemedicine and 71 percent plan to offer telemedicine over the next three years.
The On-Going Debate
There is still an active debate online and off fueled by concern surrounding whether or not telemedicine beats or even matches actual human interaction. Of course, telemedicine cannot address more serious medical issues and using the internet to make diagnoses does have its setbacks.
Bert Vargas, Mayo Clinic neurologist pointed out that practicing telemedicine can cause physicians to miss important details during a session, such as poor motor skills. And like Vargas, not everyone is buying into the telemedicine craze.
One thing is clear despite the controversy, Telemedicine is quickly becoming a powerful piece of the healthcare industry that will effect the way we think about healthcare – appointments and payments.
How do you see this trend supporting or challenging your facility’s goals?