For people who use telemedicine, the market's rapid growth won't come as\na surprise. Thanks to the unparalleled access and convenience offered by\nTelehealth, this care modality is booming among aging populations,\npeople struggling with exorbitant health care costs, and those who want\nto receive health care from the comfort and security of their homes.\nRead on to learn more about the upward mobility of the Telehealth\nmarket.
\nThe Boom of the Telehealth Market
\nBy 2020, Telehealth's global market is projected to be worth upwards of\n$34\nbillion.\nWhile Telehealth is available on a global level, North America is\ncurrently the single largest consumer, representing about 40 percent of\nthe total market. The reason Telehealth is becoming so popular in this\ncountry is twofold: one is that the population in North America is aging\nrapidly and is suffering from more chronic diseases and health\nconditions than ever before. The strain the aging population has put on\nhospitals has been huge and, as such, many hospitals are trying to\nreduce the frequency and length of hospital stays. This effort has\nresulted in a renewed focus on in-home health care formats, including\nTelehealth. When patients can be monitored and receive health care from\ntheir homes, the need for hospital accommodations drops sharply, and\npeople receive more personalized and timely care. The other is the\noutright convenience factor in that there is no scheduling issues with a\ndoctors office, time the waiting room, etc
\nMore States Passing Telehealth Laws
\nAs of now, 49 states have Telehealth laws, and eight of those states are\ncurrently entertaining proposed Telehealth parity laws. The large number\nof states adopting Telehealth laws goes to show how prevalent the\npractice is becoming. Thanks to the remote nature of telemedicine,\nstates that pass laws allowing the practice can provide their residents\nwith things like teleconsultations and medication support on a remote\nbasis, which makes health care more accessible to a broader base of\npatients.
\nTelehealth and Cannabis
\nWhile Telehealth is used for many things, cannabis is barely one of\nthem. While California and Nevada do currently allow Telehealth cannabis\nevaluations, all other states require an in-person evaluation.\nUnfortunately, this does a dire disservice to patient access to cannabis\ntreatments. When Telehealth evaluations are restricted for cannabis,\npatients are left with the choice of visiting an in-person clinic (which\nmay be located in a seedy area of town or may be difficult for the\npatient to reach due to mobility or transportation issues) or simply\ngoing without much-needed cannabis care. If the Telehealth laws were\nexpanded, however, cannabis treatment would be available to a much\nlarger pool of patients, including the elderly, those limited by\ngeographical location, and those too embarrassed to walk into a physical\ncannabis clinic. It's estimated that 7 million\npeople\nwill be using Telehealth services by 2018 and, if cannabis treatment\nwere included in Telehealth care, that number would only grow.
\nWhile the current state of Telehealth and cannabis is limited to only a\nfew states, many experts expect that Telehealth for cannabis will\neventually morph into widespread Telehealth, which encompasses\neverything from Telehealth evaluations, recommendations and follow-up.
\nAs it stands now, there are dozens of applications for Telehealth care.\nIn addition to providing easy access to capable health care providers,\nTelehealth care also removes many of the barriers that previously stood\nbetween patients and care, including distance, cost, embarrassment and\ndanger that may be associated with visiting cannabis clinics in a\nphysical location. Because of these things, Telehealth is exploding\n(RNCOS Business Consultancy is calling for Telehealth to experience an\n18.5% growth by\n2018
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