In a time when cost reduction is a key focus of the healthcare industry, telemedicine could be a useful tool.
A report from Towers Watson finds telemedicine could save U.S. companies more than $6 billion a year if all employees and their dependents used telemedicine instead of in-person physician visits for appropriate interactions.
Allan Khoury, MD, senior consultant at Towers Watson, said in the report that although this figure represents the maximum potential savings, "even a significantly lower level of use could generate hundreds of millions of dollars in savings."
Twenty-two percent of employers currently offer telemedicine consultations, and 37 percent indicated they plan to offer such services by 2015, according to the report.
"With both insurance companies and employers encouraging its use, telemedicine is going to have a growing role in the spectrum of healthcare services delivery," Dr. Khoury said in the report. "We're also likely to see that it's just the tip of the iceberg. Telemedicine is just one piece of a broader telehealth spectrum that includes video, apps, kiosks, virtual visits, wearable devices and other advancements.
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