Telemedicine’s transformational value across the care continuum is clear—but adoption still lags
Sage Growth Partners (SGP), a Baltimore-based healthcare research, strategy, and marketing firm, released new survey findings that explore healthcare executives’ application and adoption of telemedicine technology. SGP’s report, “Defining Telemedicine’s Role: The View From the C-Suite,” details findings from its survey of nearly 100 healthcare executives alongside additional quantitative and qualitative research.
The findings reveal healthcare executives’ attitudes towards telemedicine, current and expected future use, and opportunities for return on investment. Fifty-six percent have already implemented telemedicine in their organization; 27% have built or are building their own solution, while 29% are already working with one or more vendors. Forty-four percent have not yet adopted telemedicine; 24% are actively seeking telemedicine solutions, while 20% are just beginning to learn about what is out there.
Key survey findings include:
- More than half have adopted telemedicine; most non-adopters see it as a priority.
- Of those who have not yet adopted telemedicine, 86% say it is a medium to high priority.
- Telemedicine budgets are modest but growing.
Of those who have telemedicine solutions in their facilities today:
- Two-thirds (66%) have telemedicine budgets of $250,000 or less, while a quarter (25%) have budgets of $250,000-$1 million. Only nine percent have budgets of more than $1 million.
- Nearly three-quarters of respondents expect their telemedicine budget to increase next year; 59% expect it to increase by up to 25%, and 14% expect it to increase by more than 25%.
- Twenty-six percent of respondents expect their budget to stay the same, and only two percent expect it to decrease.
Behavioral health and other specialties are poised for transformation
- Three-quarters (75%) of respondents believe telemedicine has the potential to transform the standard of care for behavioral health/psychiatry, and approximately half believe it will transform care in neurology (53%), primary care (52%), and cardiology (48%).
- Seventy percent believe that telemedicine has already transformed the standard of care for stroke.
