Page 1 - Unlocking The Potential of Physician to Patient Telehealth Services The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation

Unlocking the Potential of

Physician-to-Patient

Telehealth Services

BY DANIEL CASTRO, BEN MILLER, AND ADAMS NAGER | MAY 2014

Imagine a world where patients in rural areas far from a nearby doctor can
The promise of telehealth
could soon become reality, easily find a health care provider to consult with online from the comfort
but only if the federal of their own homes; where doctors living in Pennsylvania can help reduce
government and the states the backlog of patients waiting to see doctors in Mississippi; and where
work quickly to remove patients can connect to a doctor over the Internet for routine medical
regulatory barriers that purposes with a few clicks of the mouse—like they do when ordering a
limit the deployment and
adoption of provider-to- book on Amazon. Fortunately, this vision could soon become reality, but

patient telehealth only if the federal government and the states work quickly to remove
capabilities. regulatory barriers that limit the deployment and adoption of provider-to-

patient telehealth capabilities.

Within the past five years, a combination of advancements in information technology (IT),
including electronic health records, high-definition video conferencing, remote patient
monitoring, mobile devices and networks, and ubiquitous broadband networks, has created
an opportunity to leverage telehealth services to improve our national health care system.
Health care workers can use telecommunications technology to provide clinical services to
patients, to monitor patient health, to consult with other health care providers, and to
provide patients access to educational resources. Importantly, the technology has reached
the point where, in many situations, health care providers can use IT to offer a comparable
quality of clinical health care services remotely as they could in person. For example, the
widespread adoption of mobile devices like the iPad and iPhone, as well as the deployment
of mobile broadband networks, means that a large number of Americans have access to
low-cost, high-quality video conferencing capabilities. While telehealth services will
certainly not replace all in-person clinical visits, they have the potential to be an important
alternative in many cases, while also saving money and increasing convenience.

THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION FOUNDATION | MAY 2014 PAGE 1