Telemedicine Research

— One-third of patients reported problems seeing their primary care physician.

— Nearly one-quarter reported problems taking time from work to see a physician.

— Twelve percent reported their doctor was hard to reach by phone or too far away.

— During a 20-minute office visit, physicians spend less than one minute planning treatment, on average.

— Doctors discuss options and help patients arrive at a treatment based on their preferences during fewer than one in 10 office visits.

— About half the time, doctors fail to ask patients whether they have questions.

— 74% of Emergency Room Visits Could be Avoided by a Simple Phone Call
(American Medical Association)

— Telemedicine poised to treat more patients in health care reform era
(American Medical Association)

— More Than 25 Percent Of Pediatric ‘Emergency’ Visits Could Be Conducted Online
(University of Rochester Medical Center)

— Health care reform likely to increase pressure on emergency rooms as visits grew 43% since 1997
(St. Francis Hospital)

— Telemedicine can improve adherence to protocols and increase the convenience of treatment for patients with chronic ailments. For instance, patients can use an electronic device to monitor their vital signs at home and transmit the data via computer modem to self-report their health status to medical staff. A study of patients with congestive heart failure found that those who used remote monitoring required rehospitalization only half as frequently as those who depended on traditional office visits.
(National Center for Medical Policy)