Telehealth Ecosystem: Challenge and Opportunity

Authors: R. Poonsuph

Abstract:

Technological innovation plays a crucial role in virtual healthcare services. A growing number of telehealth platforms are concentrating on using digital tools to improve the quality and availability of care. As a result, telehealth represents an opportunity to redesign the way health services are delivered. The research objective is to discover a new business model for digital health services and related industries to participate with telehealth solutions. The business opportunity is valuable for healthcare investors as a startup company to further investigations or implement the telehealth platform. The paper presents a digital healthcare business model and business opportunities to related industries. These include digital healthcare services extending from a traditional business model and use cases of business opportunities to related industries. Although there are enormous business opportunities, telehealth is still challenging due to the patient adaption and digital transformation process within a healthcare organization.

Keywords: telehealth, Internet hospital, HealthTech, InsurTech

References:

[1] McKinsey, Telehealth: A quarter-trillion-dollar post-COVID-19 reality? July 9,2021 (access Aug,2021) https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/healthcare-systems-and-services/our-insights/telehealth-a-quarter-trillion-dollar-post-covid-19-reality
[2] Han Y, Lie R, Guo R, The Internet Hospital as a Telehealth Model in China: Systematic Search and Content Analysis, J Med Internet Res 2020;22(7):e17995 URL: https://www.jmir.org/2020/7/e17995 DOI: 10.2196/17995
[3] Health Analytics Asia, How China used telemedicine to fight COVID-19, (access May 2021) https://www.ha-asia.com/how-china-used-telemedicine-to-fight-covid-19/
[4] Christopher, Cheney, Cost saving for telemedicine estimated at $19 to $120 per patient visit, May 2019 (access Aug 2021) https://www.healthleadersmedia.com/clinical-care/cost-savings-telemedicine-estimated-19-120-patient-visit
[5] James Galloway, et al, The impact of disease severity and duration on cost, early retirement and ability to work in rheumatoid arthritis in Europe: an economic modelling study, Rheumatology Advances in Practice, Volume 4, Issue 2, 2020, https://doi.org/10.1093/rap/rkaa041
[6] CBInsights, Research Report, State of Healthcare Q3'20 Report: Sector And Investment Trends To Watch. (access October 2020) https://www.cbinsights.com/research/report/healthcare-trends-q3-2020/
[7] Mahtta, D., Daher, M., Lee, M.T. et al. Promise and Perils of Telehealth in the Current Era. Curr Cardiol Rep 23, 115 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11886-021-01544-w
[8] Herman B. VIRTUAL REALITY: More insurers are embracing telehealth. Modern Healthcare. 2016;46(8):0016. Accessed August 14, 2021.
[9] Faggini M, Cosimato S, Nota FD, Nota G. Pursuing Sustainability for Healthcare through Digital Platforms. Sustainability. 2019; 11(1):165. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11010165
[10] "Vital Healthcare Capital Launches $30 Million Social Impact Loan Fund Supporting Better Care for People with Complex Needs in Low-Income Communities." Mental Health Weekly Digest, 30 Nov. 2015, p. 200.
[11] https://business.amwell.com/ (access Aug 2021)
[12] https://www.teladochealth.com/ (access Aug 2021)
[13] https://ro.co/ (access Aug 2021)
[14] https://www.guahao.com/ (access Aug 2021)
[15] https://www.haodf.com/ (access Aug 2021)
[16] David Ian Barrett, & Nayanabhiram Kalnad. (2014). Deployment of digital healthcare kiosks in the workplace: Utilisation and acceptability. International Journal of Integrated Care, 14(8), International journal of integrated care, 01 November 2014, Vol.14(8).
[17] Kountze, M., & Lunsford, R. (2019). HealthSpot’s Pursuit to Provide Global Healthcare Access Through Telemedicine. Journal of the International Society for Telemedicine and EHealth, 7, e19 (1-7). https://doi.org/10.29086/JISfTeH.7.e19
[18] United Nations, World Population Ageing 2019 Highlights, https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/publications/pdf/ageing/WorldPopulationAgeing2019-Highlights.pdf
[19] Niu, S., Chen, L., Wang, J., & Yu, F. (2020). Electronic Health Record Sharing Scheme With Searchable Attribute-Based Encryption on Blockchain. IEEE Access, 8, 7195-7204.
[20] S. Ravali and R. Lakshmi Priya, "Design and Implementation of Smart Hospital using IoT," 2021 5th International Conference on Computing Methodologies and Communication (ICCMC), 2021, pp. 460-465, doi: 10.1109/ICCMC51019.2021.9418296.
[21] Shola Usharani, Antony Ignatious, Bhava Hari and V. Balavishnu, "Iot Patient Health Monitoring System", Indian Journal of Public Health Research & Development, vol. 8, pp. 1329, 2017.
[22] Wang, P., & Kricka, L. (2018). Current and Emerging Trends in Point-of-Care Technology and Strategies for Clinical Validation and Implementation. Clinical Chemistry, 64(10), 1439-1452.
[23] Wiseschinda, Varut. (2020). Deep Medicine How Artificial Intelligence Can Make Healthcare Human Again. The Bangkok Medical Journal; Vol. 16 No. 2 (2020): September; 250.
[24] Dacadoo.com, Health Risk Quantification and Health score, (access Aug 2021) https://www.dacadoo.com/products-services/dacadoo-health-risk-quantification/
[25] Bertha Coombs, Amazon is expanding Amazon Care telehealth service nationally for its employees and other companies, CNBC Health and Science, Mar 17, 2021 (access Aug 17, 2021) https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/17/amazon-is-expanding-amazon-care-telehealth-service-nationally-for-employees.html