Demand for telehealth is on the rise.
For one, according to the American Medical Association (AMA), “With the nation in its third year of the, people are under tremendous stress. Even patients who in general have been well-adjusted and healthy, particularly children and adolescents, are finding they need mental health care. Using technology to integrate behavioral health care into primary care settings—settings that patients are visiting on a regular basis for routine care or other medical needs—is a key way to help patients access the mental health care they need in a system that doesn’t have enough providers to meet the demand for behavioral health care.”
That alone could help drive significant growth for companies such as Datametrex AI Limited (TSXV: DM) (OTCQB: DTMXF), Teladoc Health Inc. (NYSE: TDOC), WELL Health Technologies Corp. (TSX: WELL) (OTC: WHTCF), Doximity Inc. (NYSE: DOCS), and Uphealth Inc. (NYSE: UPH).
Two, according to a CVS Health 2022 Health Care Insights Study, “A little over half (53 percent) of providers said that the addition of virtual care options led to an increase in patient visits, according to a new report. Compared to in-person appointments, healthcare consumers find virtual visits more convenient because they don’t have to leave home (41 percent), they don’t have to cover transportation costs (37 percent), and they save time (37 percent).
Three, as also noted by the AMA, “Telehealth is critical to the future of health care, which is why the AMA continues to lead the charge to aggressively expand telehealth policy, research and resources to ensure physician practice sustainability and fair payment.”