The drumbeat for increased applications for telehealth seems to be getting louder by the day. Almost simultaneously, a market research firm issued an aggressive forecast for the mobile health applications market, while industry groups called upon Congress to clear away obstacles to further integration of telehealth systems, products and services into the nation’s health care system.

The market research firm, Visiongain, forecast a $6.7 billion (sales) marketplace for mobile health apps by the end of 2014. Visiongain supported the figure by stating that various forces were driving a more rapid growth in telemedicine than had been experienced in the past. The lobbying initiative by health care industry associations, vendors and a health care system seemed to signal that the time may be here for telemedicine to make a quantum leap forward.

In a letter to U.S. Reps. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), the lobbying organizations called upon Congress to get behind a series of recommendations designed to take advantage of the opportunities inherent in the telemedicine realm for better health care at a lower cost.

Upton chairs the House Committee on Energy & Commerce, where DeGette serves as a member. They created the 21st Century Cures Initiative designed to identify ways to accelerate the search for cures of certain diseases.

The recommendations included:

Authorize the use of telehealth in all accountable care and bundled payment programs;
Use remote monitoring to assist patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and congestive heart failure, as well as those with diabetes who are patients of federally qualified health centers, and include the flexibility to expand monitoring to those with other chronic conditions;
Authorize the use of telehealth payments for population health management at all critical access hospitals and FQHCs;
Enable Medicare patients to use video visits and remote monitoring.

“Despite an outdated and restrictive legal and regulatory environment, these transformative technologies have been demonstrated to result in increased quality of care, reduced hospitalization, avoidance of complications and improved satisfaction, particularly for the chronically ill, and reduced costs, among others,” the letter said. “Congress has the responsibility to take necessary steps to help Americans realize the benefits of these solutions.”

Signatories to the letter included health care IT nonprofit HIMSS, the American Telemedicine Association, the Continua Health Alliance, ACT/The App Association, the Alliance for Home Dialysis, the RCHN Community Health Foundation, the Telecommunications Industry Association, Christus Health, Qualcomm, Intel, Panasonic, Philips and Baxter International. They asked the congressional representatives to request a Congressional Budget Office analysis of the costs associated with expanded telehealth applications.

Instant Insights /

Industry groups urge Congress to prioritize telehealth

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