Telemedicine has expanded rapidly since the beginning of the pandemic and is expected to increasingly be adopted in the medical world, according to GlobalData.

The leading data and analytics company said the use of telemedicine is enhancing the treatment of neurological, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.

Telemedicine involves the use of electronic communication, such as videoconferencing or phone calls, for the delivery of remote clinical care via virtual consultations.

According to GlobalData’s report, ‘Virtual Care and Telemedicine– Thematic Research’ there will be a steady increase in new telemedicine product launches over the next couple of years, with 257 devices entering the market in 2023 compared to 71 in 2021.

As an example, Wise Therapeutics expects to launch ABM-01, a digital therapeutic designed for the management of generalised anxiety disorder and social anxiety disorder in adults.

Post-pandemic, telemedicine is here to stay as it provides the opportunity to respond to patients’ health needs in an agile and efficient way for many indications. GlobalData’s recent survey supports this outlook as 59% of patients confirm that they will continue to have some type of remote interaction with their physician in the future, either by video call or by the use of applications.

Telemedicine Expands Patient Reach

By allowing patients to interact with their healthcare providers digitally, virtual care and telemedicine encourages those patients to seek out continual care without having to incur the consequences of unnecessary travel, limited access to care services, or lost days of work. Telemedicine offerings allow healthcare systems to greatly expand their patient population reach.

This is especially important when dealing with populations living in remote rural regions. Rural areas are generally far less equipped with specialized health services, which can make seeking and receiving treatment for serious chronic or emergency conditions problematic.

By employing digital routes of care, healthcare systems can also ensure that patient populations that are unable to travel, such as the elderly and the injured, are not making unnecessary trips to healthcare facilities when a simple virtual doctor visit would suffice.

Elia Garcia, Medical Analyst at GlobalData, said:

“It is expected that with the development of digital solutions focused on neurological diseases including mental health, more users will have access to mobile applications to help them improve their well-being.”
Elia Garcia

Features Offered by Telemedicine Applications

Some of the main features offered by these applications include guided meditations with breathing signalling, exercises to improve mental dexterity, video therapies, quality of sleep analysis, tracking new healthy habits and sound stimulation for relaxation and mood improvement.

In 2021, approximately 7% of the US population were diagnosed with major depressive disorder, according to GlobalData. In order to address this increase, new therapies for mental health have been developed for digital platforms, such as digital cognitive assessments for the early diagnosis of cognitive impairment, guidance options to calm the mind, online psychology services, guided meditation, tools to improve daily routines, habits and goals and sleep quality tracking.

“These therapies will allow patients to record their progress, have direct communication with physicians and have quick access to automated advice that supports health preservation.”
Elia Garcia

Michigan State University has been working on the development of an AI application that assesses the user’s linguistic patterns, facial expressions and words to predict the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

“This is an example of how the digital health segment is growing in response to changes in consumer behaviour brought on by a pandemic and the legacy this has left with more applications being developed to detect the early signs of mental health disorders, track the progress of therapies and improve them.”
Elia Garcia