Report: Telehealth Barriers Remain

HDM Breaking News, April 17, 2006

Health organizations using telehealth technology to remotely monitor patients overwhelmingly believe lack of payer reimbursement is a major barrier for broader adoption. Further, a majority believes the technology is too expensive and carries a questionable return on investment.

Those are some of the findings from a new survey and accompanying report on the remote patient monitoring market by Spyglass Consulting Group, Menlo Park, Calif. The consulting and research firm interviewed more than 100 organizations with remote patient monitoring programs in 40 states.

Among other factors, these early adopters believe telehealth costs must fall to one-third to one-fifth of their present prices before adoption is widespread. Seventy-seven percent of surveyed organizations also believe two-way video conferencing is expensive and not necessary for most patient monitoring services. But the technology can be useful for certain heart and lung patients, wound care and mental health treatment.

The 68-page Spyglass report, "Healthcare Without Bounds: Trends in Remote Patient Monitoring," examines the present state of adoption and environment, the technology's limitations, barriers to fuller adoption, and its future outlook. The report costs $2,295 and is available at spyglass-consulting.com.

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