Telehealth - A Keystone for Future Healthcare Delivery

HBS Consulting
March 1, 2003
121 Pages - SKU: HBSC893831
License type:
Telehealth - A Keystone for Future Healthcare Delivery

 
The evolution of telehealth is not only expected to reshape the delivery of consultations, monitoring and treatments it is also expected to reshape healthcare providers’ and patient/citizens’ access to healthcare services. Healthcare delivery is no longer controlled and will be less and less controlled by secondary and primary healthcare providers.

Telehealth is a new platform on which healthcare provision can be reshaped to meet the challenges of an aging population and more demanding and discerning patients/citizens. Telehealth involves automating all routine healthcare processes, from monitoring blood sugar levels to administering drugs, and extending the distribution of more complex and expert medical expertise, by using videoconferencing to deliver consultations or surgical support. Following both these paths delivers benefits to healthcare provisioning, enabling medical staff to work more effectively, whatever their level of expertise or responsibility. Telehealth provides them with a tool to eradicate mundane and low-value healthcare processes and maximise their core skills and expertise. The same level of automation that is routine amongst financial and retail verticals for example, are not as prevalent within the healthcare community. Changes underway have the potential to fundamentally change the delivery of healthcare in the near and long-term.