Baltimore-based Sage Growth Partners, a healthcare research, strategy and marketing firm, released new survey findings assessing healthcare executives' adoption and application of telemedicine technology. The findings reveal nearly 100 healthcare executives' attitudes towards telemedicine, current and expected future use and opportunities for ROI.
Here are six things to know:
1. More than half — 56 percent — have adopted telemedicine in their organization. Of those who have not yet adopted telemedicine, 86 percent say it is a medium to high priority.
2. Of the adopters, 66 percent have telemedicine budgets of $250,000 or less, while 25 percent have budgets between $250,000 and $1 million. Nearly 75 percent of respondents expect their telemedicine budget to increase next year, and only 2 percent expect it to decrease.
3. Three-quarters of respondents believe telemedicine has the potential to transform the standard of behavioral healthcare, and about half believe it will transform neurology, primary care and cardiology; 70 percent believe it has already transformed care for stroke.
4. Mobile apps and outpatient care are the new frontier for telemedicine, according to the Sage Growth Partners report. Only 4 percent of executives use telemedicine for post-acute care, but 75 percent are interested in using a telemedicine solution there in the future.
5. Most respondents — 75 percent — see positive ROI within three years in the outpatient clinic setting. Less than half — 46 percent — believe there will be positive ROI for telemedicine in emergency cases in the ambulance during transport.
6. Although 70 percent of executives consider reliable connectivity to be a "must have," nearly half — 46 percent — estimate that their current telemedicine solution fails at least 15 percent of the time. The vast majority — 92 percent — of executives responded that their top "must have" capability is the security of data and devices and HIPAA compliance.
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