Providing market intelligence for more than 35 years

What should executives keep in mind as they consider the expanding acceptance of and preference for virtual care delivery among consumers and payers? There are three big considerations that are outlined in Virtual Care Demand Could Test Care Providers’ Health IT Infrastructure In 2015, a piece by Harry Wang, the lead analyst for Parks Associates’ digital health research program, that appeared recently in Computerworld.

  1. The video revolution has its challenges – While traditional patient portals are probably fine, according to Mr. Wang, interactive communications services using video could be a potential area for trouble. The issues to consider include video player configurations and related software challenges, system capabilities and reliability for increased video traffic, and security.
  2. Real-time health information exchange is the expectation – Virtual care increases timely access to professionals, and consumers expect their medical records to keep up. Increasing use of telehealth will highlight the problems of interoperability (see Net Neutrality Is About More Than Streaming Movies and Interoperable Electronic Data Exchange Is Non-Existent Among Long-Term Care Provider Organizations). Consumers expect timely access to past health records, lab tests, and diagnostic imaging.
  3. Dealing with all that remote monitoring data – The most advanced of virtual care systems leverage consumer self-monitoring capabilities, and integrated them into virtual care sessions. It sounds quite simple, but how such data will be fed into electronic health records (EHR) without delay and then compared with similar historical data is no simple matter. And, it is critically important to both the consumer experience and realizing cost savings from e-health.

From the article "The Uphill Climb To Virtual Care" by Monica E. Oss.

Previously In The News

YouTube TV Climbs to Fourth Among US Pay-TV Services

Landing NFL Sunday Ticket was a major factor in YouTube TV’s subscription growth, maintained Eric Sorensen, director for the streaming video tracker at Parks Associates, a market research and consulti...

To save money, Americans are considering ad-supported streaming offers

Tiers with advertising could help stem the loss of financially challenged subscribers from platforms, since according to a Parks Associates study, three out of ten American households unsubscribe from...

Parks Associates Study Finds 30% of Security Dealers Sold DIY Systems in 2023

Parks Associates research finds security dealers are branching out into new areas to bolster revenues and add applications that require or enrich professional installation and monitoring. The firm’s 1...

Analysis: Viewers crave streaming simplicity not more fragmentation

Parks Associates reveals that only 5% of U.S. households rely solely on traditional pay TV. Instead, smart TV apps have emerged as the new living room entertainment hub. From the article, "Analysis...