As is everything in the modern world in 2025 and even leading up to 2026, technology plays an enormous role in services that consumers or patients receive in their daily lives. Think about it – you can order groceries, household toiletries, christmas gifts, clothing, etc, right to your front door all from an app or website on a cell phone or computer. On top of that, you can earn a college degree fully online, connect with friends and family over the phone across the globe, and so much more. Also, the rise of AI is opening new doors, and we’re just at the start of it.
With that said, there have been many ways that one of the largest industries on the planet, healthcare, has been affected by technology and its advances. One of the biggest drivers has been the growth of telehealth. A 2022 study estimates that 38.8% (roughly 40%) of Americans have completed a telehealth visit within the previous year. Let’s dive into how this has happened.
40% of all Americans used telehealth in some form in a 2022 report.
How did we get here?
Technology has evolved and enabled healthcare providers to be able to provide “telehealth”. What telehealth is at its core is simply the provision of healthcare by a health professional to a patient who is physically not in the same location as the health professional. This, on the surface, sounds basic, but it is a multi-layered dynamic between provider and patient.
Looking into the past, one of the headlining beginnings of telemedicine in the United States was in the 1960s, when the National Aeronautics and Space Association (NASA) was monitoring astronauts in flight by physicians and medical teams during their mission Project Mercury. Teams of medical observers were positioned across 18 sites in North America, Europe, Africa, and Australia, with the task of observing by providing around the clock monitoring during travel. NASA demonstrated that using telecommunications to establish contact between providers and patients can allow for greater availability of, and access to, healthcare beyond what had previously been considered possible. After this potential was tapped into, in 1966, The U.S. National Library of Medicine designated $42 million towards multiple telemedicine projects spanning over 19 years which targeted medically isolated groups of patients, including rural, inner city, and even some suburban areas of the country.
Teleradiology plays a significant role in neurology due to the shortage of providers, as nearly every radiology examination generates digital content. In 2014, teleradiology was reported to account for greater than half of all telemed services in the U.S. Even in psychiatry, a field that very heavily relied on in-person conversation, has been able to adapt to telemedicine methods as well. Roughly 85% of psychologists report using telehealth in some capacity within their practice scope, which is a 12-fold increase from previous reporting of only 20%. What was this drastic change in response to? You might be wondering. That would be the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020.
Image: Unsplash.com. Available at: https://unsplash.com/photos/visualization-of-the-coronavirus-causing-covid-19-rnr8D3FNUNY
Modern World
Telemedicine was such a critical part of the COVID-19 pandemic. So critical in fact, that a study looking at trends at NYU Langone Health, a hospital system in New York City, NY, showed that in-person visits declined by 80% and telemedicine visits saw a 683% increase between March 2nd and April 14th of 2020.
A different aspect of telemedicine, can treat patients with at-home monitoring systems. Videoconferencing, medical data acquisition, sharing of collected data with physicians, web-based access to clinical data, and web access tailored to chronic conditions (diabetes, blood pressure, etc.) education. Units may be able to read glucose, monitor blood pressure, alert patients if any of their values are recorded as abnormal, and indicate whether physician contact is necessary. This at-home telehealth monitoring, especially for those with chronic diseases, has proven to be beneficial for both patients and hospitals. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act requires the US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to penalize readmissions to hospitals that occur within 30 days after discharge.
A study conducted by Partners Healthcare in 2014 provided in-home monitoring to over 3,000 patients with congestive heart failure (CHF). Their personal health data were recorded and uploaded daily to a monitoring system which alerted providers which patients needed attention. Over six years of the study, hospital readmissions dropped by 44% for these patients, and the program generated savings of greater than $10 million. This is just another example of how telemedicine services benefit patients, providers, as well as lowering healthcare costs.
Image: Unsplash.com. Available at: https://unsplash.com/photos/white-and-black-digital-device-i1iqQRLULlg
Benefits versus Challenges of Telemedicine
Providers are always considering risk vs. benefit in their daily work, and it’s important to break those down here.
To begin, the benefits of telehealth encompass the following:
Oppositely, the following displays some of the challenges seen in telehealth systems:
The benefits for both the patient and provider are evident, but with anything, these do not come without challenges and barriers to overcome. The biggest positive is access. Whether it be an elderly patient, someone from a super rural area, a single mom who cannot make it to a provider office, etc., or whatever the case may be, healthcare is only beneficial when you are able to access it! On top of that, it saves money for the healthcare system as a whole, which may not sound important, but this positively impacts all aspects of provided care down the line or at a later date, and also allows for potential improvements in the system itself as well.
For challenges, the most important hurdle is patient information and privacy concerns. Patients are protected by HIPAA laws just as they are under regular in-person provider visits and consultations. There is concern, especially potentially with patients in older age about how they are being protected with more technological systems in place. Additionally, there are questions for the providers too, as they are the ones liable for recommendations and prescriptions. They have to ensure a patient-provider relationship, and be certain that they are comfortable with prescribing certain medications within the scope of their practice.
Provider Outlook: Regulations
It’s crucial to understand exactly how this process and service is regulated, what is allowed, and what is not. First off, it’s important to note that federal regulations generally pertain to use of telehealth in government-supported health care through the Department of Veteran Affairs and Medicare; while state laws are what govern the use of telehealth in Medicaid programs, licensing requirements for practicing telehealth within a specific state, and private insurance reimbursement for the services provided. It’s required for providers to not only follow federal regulation, but also to adhere to rules that are provided by their state jurisdictions in addition. Furthermore, states can decide where in the state it can be covered, how the service is provided/covered, what types of practitioners/providers may be reimbursed, and how reimbursement is conducted.
All states do not operate the same, so it is necessary to be aware of the different rules of their area of practice. On top of that, if there is a situation where they are providing care to someone across state lines, be aware of those regulations as well. It sounds complex that there are multiple sets of law. Follow national first, then adhere to any state laws that are even more strict than federal. State laws are not allowed to be less stringent than federal rulings.
The Future of Telehealth
Overall, it is estimated that telehealth is saving the United States healthcare system more than $4 billion annually. So, it is not going away any time soon. It will continue to grow, making a continuous growth of healthcare access for patients all across the country. Legislation will continue to be adapted by federal and state lawmakers, protecting patients on either Medicare or through private insurance companies. Barriers will continue to be fought against, especially data/information privacy, as this is a key component of patient distrust with telehealth system operations. Back in 2000, it would have been very hard to predict what telehealth turned into in 2025 – a market with over $160 billion. That begs the question, what will it look like in 2050?
Image: Unsplash.com. Available at: https://unsplash.com/photos/latin-woman-patient-sit-on-couch-at-home-have-video-call-with-female-doctor-online-in-latin-america-IpwhZo5dhMQ
Collin B., APPE Student
References:
- Holčapek T, Šolc M, Šustek P. Telemedicine and the standard of care: a call for a new approach? Front Public Health. 2023 May 4;11. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10192621/
- CDC. Research Anthology: Telehealth and Telemedicine. Public Health Law. Published May 13, 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/phlp/php/publications/research-anthology-telehealth-and-telemedicine.html
- Spaulding EM, Fang M, Commodore-Mensah Y, Himmelfarb CR, Martin SS, Coresh J. Prevalence and Disparities in Telehealth Use Among US Adults Following the COVID-19 Pandemic: National Cross-Sectional Survey. J Med Internet Res. 2024 May 10;26. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11127137/
- Medicaid.gov. Reimbursement for Telehealth and Provider and Facility Guidelines | Medicaid. Medicaid.gov. Published 2022. https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/benefits/telehealth/reimbursement-for-telehealth-and-provider-and-facility-guidelines
- Mechanic OJ, Kimball AB. Telehealth systems. National Library of Medicine. Published 2022. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK459384/