Telehealth care - A game changer for the Indian healthcare

Telehealthcare - A game changer for the Indian healthcare

Twitter Handle: @shuchi_nahar

In the last few decades, India has made significant advancements in the way healthcare has been delivered in the country. In the context of the COVID-19 public health emergency, the use of digital health technologies, including software as a medical device or other digital therapeutics solutions may improve mental health and well-being of patients with psychiatric conditions during periods of shelter-in-place, isolation, and quarantine. In addition, by reducing patient contact with, and proximity to, healthcare providers, can ease the burden on hospitals, other healthcare facilities, and healthcare professionals who are experiencing increased demand due to the COVID-19 public health emergency.

1. Telehealth in India

The pandemic has highlighted the need to build a simplified and holistic teleconsultation platform encompassing all key stakeholders. With the current levels of adoption by the patient–consumers and doctors, along with emerging teleconsultation platforms, India has commenced its teleconsultation journey. The ‘Now’ has witnessed a massive expansion of tele–consulting as doctors and patients are restricted to interact in person.

Telehealth and its Division

2. Consumption of telehealth services in India

In response to the growing need for teleconsultation, pharmaceutical companies are also proactively engaging with teleconsultation platform providers to establish a connection between the doctors and the patients.

Source: IPA

Teleconsultation and e–pharmacy platforms have shown steep growth in adoption by both, doctors as well as patients. For e.g., Fortis Healthcare has witnessed the shift in the outpatient department (OPD) consultation with 10% of the pre–COVID-19 consultations moving to the teleconsultation platform. 

3. Scope for Telemedicine in India

What is Telemedicine?

It is the practice of medicine using technology to deliver healthcare services remotely. A registered physician at one location uses telecommunications infrastructure to deliver care to a patient at a distant location.

Source: IPA

Telemedicine can play a particularly important role in cases where there is no need for the patient to physically see the RMP (or other medical professional), e.g. for regular, routine check-ups or continuous monitoring. Telemedicine can reduce the burden on secondary hospitals.

The telemedicine market in India is expected to grow at a CAGR of 31% for the period 2020–25 and reach US$5.5b. Virtual care constitutes teleconsultation, telepathology, teleradiology, and e–pharmacy and is experiencing an encouraging stimulus in India was due to the pandemic. This stimulus has the potential to make teleconsultation and e-pharmacy account for ~95% of the telemedicine market by 2025 which amounts to US$5.2 billion.

5. Telemedicine Market Regionwise 

Source: GM Market research

The market value for the global telemedicine market has been continuously growing from $18.1 billion in 2015 to $30.5 billion as of 2019. The market is forecast to expand to $35.5 billion this year and to $41.2 billion next year.

6. Telemedicine in Animal Healthcare

U.S Veterinary telehealth market size, by service type 2016-2028 (USD Million)

Source: Grandview Research

Telemedicine, telehealth, and virtual care are recent buzzwords in veterinary medicine, despite veterinarians practicing it for years. Before the Coronavirus, the veterinary industry was slow to adopt telehealth solutions. 

There were numerous driving factors but the three main ones that were heard over and over again was that pet owners did not have issues getting access to veterinarians, clinics did not equip to integrate technology into their offerings and veterinarians were concerned with liability surrounding remote consultations.

There has been a surge in adoptions around the world for “Pandemic Puppies” and “Corona Kittens”. It is uncertain what the effects will be as pet owners return to work and children to school. There will have to be a fundamental shift in business models for veterinarians.

The increasing prevalence of diseases such as diabetes, kidney diseases, spinal disc problems, and blood pressure related issues are further fueling the market for veterinary telehealth.

7. Key Factors driving Telemedicine

8. Factors Triggering the Growth of Telehealth Solutions

1. There is an increasing number of populations worldwide suffering from chronic disease. Moreover, the geriatric population and home healthcare have become a necessity in an urban environment.
2. On-demand healthcare apps and high mobile penetration amongst every age group is another reason contributing to the growth of telehealth solutions.
3. Technological advancements, telehealth coverage in insurance is another factor fueling the growth of telehealth solutions at the global level.

9. Telemedicine – Enabler of Healthcare Access and Affordability

There are a number of benefits of telemedicine. It increases timely access to appropriate interventions including faster access and access to services that may not otherwise be available. In India, providing In-person healthcare is challenging, particularly given the large geographical distances and limited resources.

One of the major advantages of telemedicine can be for the saving of cost and effort especially for rural patients, as they need not travel long distances for obtaining consultation and treatment. In this type of scenario, telemedicine can provide an optimal solution for not just providing timely and faster access. It would also reduce financial costs associated with travel. It also reduces the inconvenience/impact to family and caregivers and social factors.

Triggered by Covid-19 pandemic, Healthtech is poised for rapid growth and will keep attracting public and private investments. There shall be the further acceleration in fundraising by startups, M&A deals, and IPOs with the evolution of a robust health tech ecosystem in India.

Sources: Grandview Research

KPMG

IPA

GM Market Insights

Link to Telehealthcare in Animals - https://myweekendspot.blogspot.com/2021/08/telehealth-care-game-changer-for-indian.html

Twitter Handle: @shuchi_nahar

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