Telemedicine industry growth expected to increase (reporter's observation)
Core reading
The rapid development of the Internet and digital technology is profoundly changing the traditional diagnosis and treatment mode, and telemedicine is increasingly used. The World Health Organization says that 2020-2030 may be a decade of digital technology reshaping medical and health systems. The growth of the telemedicine industry, which can break through time and space restrictions, is expected to increase.
One day in February, Singapore ’s 26-year-old data analyst Lin Weile developed diarrhea after eating out. A friend recommended that she download the "Doctor Anywhere" telemedicine service platform. After she registered, it took only 15 seconds to contact a doctor, and then made a 5-minute video connection. Three hours later, medicines for treating food poisoning were delivered to her home. Lin Weile paid a consultation fee of about S $ 20 (S $ 1 is about RMB 5) and a medical fee of S $ 15.
During the prevention and control of the New Coronary Pneumonia epidemic, people stayed at home, and more and more people in various countries, such as Lin Weile, made online consultations.
"We have witnessed the development of telemedicine for 10 years in one week"
With the help of Telelea Medical's digital home medical platform in Italy, a doctor can use the video system and electronic health records to simultaneously track and monitor the condition of 50 patients. The Spanish Andalusian Electronic Health System Company provides electronic health file systems for doctors and patients to effectively integrate information such as the patient's health status, early treatment process, and expert opinions. Verily, a life sciences company affiliated with Google in the United States, has developed an application that makes it easy for people to query nearby new coronary pneumonia nucleic acid detection sampling sites. The New Coronary Pneumonia Critical Care Center in a hospital in Israel not only carries out remote diagnosis and treatment, but also monitors the intensive care unit, isolation ward and interacts with patients remotely.
Since the end of January, the number of users of Singapore's online medical platform "Doctor Anywhere" has more than doubled. In the second week of March this year, the overall visits of the American telemedicine service provider "AmWell" increased 250% month-on-month. In New York State, where the epidemic is most severe, telemedicine visits have increased by as much as 600%. The weekly order volume of British telemedicine company "Push Doctor" increased by 70% year-on-year. Sam Wesley, a general practitioner in London, said with emotion: "We have witnessed the development of telemedicine for 10 years in one week."
In recent years, governments of various countries have adopted various measures to support the development of the telemedicine industry. Last year, the remote expert clinic was included in the French medical insurance reimbursement scope. Each patient can be reimbursed for the cost of the expert clinic 6 times per year. Each doctor who performs remote diagnosis and treatment will also receive financial support from the government up to 525 euros. Since 2017, some telemedicine services in Germany have been included in the scope of medical insurance. The German government has also invested a lot of money in tracking and surveying telemedicine to clarify the actual effect of telemedicine services. In March, the British Health Services Department requested thousands of clinics across the country to switch to remote consultations and quickly approve digital service providers. The US government claims that the United States will temporarily include telemedicine in medical insurance.
In January, the Ministry of Health of Singapore passed a bill to bring the telemedicine industry under government supervision from 2021. Singapore ’s Lianhe Zaobao reported that the government ’s formal issuance of business licenses to telemedicine practitioners is recognition of the industry. In the event of a dispute, patients can be held accountable for legal responsibility in accordance with prescribed procedures, which helps to enhance patients' confidence in telemedicine services, thereby attracting more people to use telemedicine.
Provide timely and affordable medical services to patients
People in the industry generally believe that the biggest benefit of telemedicine is that it can break through the limitations of time and space and provide patients with timely and affordable medical services. For patients with chronic diseases and re-visited patients who have received face-to-face diagnosis, telemedicine can help patients monitor themselves at home and provide timely feedback to doctors. Kerry Parakanis, director of the American Salt Lake City Mountain Healthcare Company, said that follow-up in the form of telemedicine helps doctors understand the patient's physical feelings and discuss related results through remote monitoring equipment. In addition, experts from various places can also consult the same patient through the telemedicine platform.
Telemedicine services are based on digitalization, which can significantly reduce the time, economic and environmental costs of medical services. In the triage stage, doctors screen for illnesses through an online diagnosis and treatment platform. Mild patients can go to the clinic online without having to go to the hospital; patients who need emergency treatment will have the opportunity to be quickly transferred to the emergency room. De Bartin, head of the German Health Innovation Center, said: "The promotion of telemedicine is very beneficial to resource optimization, and doctors can save the necessary time to deal with more difficult challenges."
In addition, doctors can use fragmented time to provide consultation services, thereby increasing income. In the special period of the new coronary pneumonia epidemic, telemedicine can also reduce the risk of infection among medical staff.
Public opinion generally expects that telemedicine will make up for the uneven distribution of regional medical resources and allow people in remote areas to enjoy higher-quality medical services.
However, the limitations of telemedicine itself have caused a lot of attention. First, the coverage of diseases is not wide enough. Telemedicine is mostly suitable for common acute diseases such as colds, diarrhea and colds, as well as chronic diseases such as diabetes and tracheitis. It is difficult to take into account those diseases that require doctors to "look, smell, ask and cut" to judge the condition; Limited by equipment and technical conditions. Issues such as telemedicine charging standards, medical insurance reimbursement ratios, and how to control the use of prescription drugs need to be further clarified. Experts pointed out that in order to improve the accuracy of remote diagnosis and treatment, it is necessary to use more advanced digital technology and make doctors proficient in remote diagnosis and treatment methods and tools.
Will develop in the direction of real-time interaction, resource management and artificial intelligence
The population of the EU countries is highly aging, and the development of the medical and health field has become the focus of attention. The European Commission issued a report saying that telemedicine is an important part of the EU's digital strategy and the development of an innovative economy. In the future, telemedicine will develop in real-time interaction, resource management, multi-task processing, and artificial intelligence, and will be more personalized, intelligent, and secure. According to reports, the EU will focus on establishing health data spaces, supporting disease prevention research, and research and development of pharmaceuticals and medical equipment.
The rapid development of wearable smart devices and virtual reality has also brought new opportunities to telemedicine. After the heart telemetry device produced by the German BDO Company is connected to the mobile phone, it can transmit the arrhythmia and other data monitored in real time to the monitoring center. The French startup "KineQuantum" transmits postoperative recovery and physical therapy to the mobile terminal in 3D and virtual reality games, and guides patients to operate remotely. "5G network has the characteristics of high speed, large capacity, low delay, etc., and can be applied to remote monitoring, rounds, consultations and other scenarios." Wasi Watana, head of the national operation and support department of Thailand Yiwang Information Service Company Sa said the company is developing 5G robots to assist doctors.
Many analysts believe that epidemic prevention and control is becoming a catalyst for the accelerated development of the telemedicine industry. Olivier Thierry, CEO of the French telemedicine service provider "Qare", said: "The epidemic will further change people's medical habits, and market expectations for the growth of the telemedicine industry are rising." The World Health Organization said , 2020-2030 may be a decade of digital technology reshaping the health care system. The American consulting firm Daguan Research released a report in April this year predicting that by 2027, the global telemedicine market will reach USD 155.1 billion.
However, some analysts pointed out that after the epidemic is over, the number of visits to telemedicine platforms will decline. For telemedicine providers, how to maintain the activeness of existing users and make enterprises continue to achieve profitability is also a problem that must be considered.
(Reported by Brussels, Bangkok)
Our correspondent in Belgium Zheng Bin Our correspondent in Thailand Lin Rui