Economic Impact of Telehealth

Economic Impact

The economic impact of telehealth is a critical factor to examine when looking at the feasibility of incorporating such technologies into practice. Exploration of economics is also essential as it has been posited that telehealth has the potential to deliver care to individuals that is cost saving in nature (Wade, Karnon, Elshaug, & Hiller, 2010). Furthermore, the estimated expenditure on telehealth services and technology is expected to reach into the billions of dollars (Berger, 2010). However, there are myriad individual elements that may be considered in the broad subject of economics, which complicates determining the economic impact in a parsimonious way (Bergmo, 2009; Wade, et al., 2010).

Providers are faced with having to weigh the expense of investing in telehealth technologies with the ability to generate enough revenue to cover these costs. This is often difficult as expenses in the literature can cover those directly linked with the delivery of care (healthcare costs) and those that are not directly related to providing care (non-heath care costs) (Bergmo, 2009). Some of the healthcare costs a practitioner must consider are items such as computers, video cameras, microphones, modems, routers, software and other components such as specialized stethoscopes and imaging equipment needed to assess an individual patient. The cost of these items can add up quickly. As one study estimates, the capital expenditure for the implementation of telehealth video conferencing can reach as much as $80,000. The cost of transmitting data in order to deliver these services can also reach $800-$2000 per month in spoke and hub type telehealth systems (Gamble, Savage, & Icenogle, 2004). These costs incur even more ...

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...ward understanding the cost benefit of telemedicine applications. Hospital Topics: Research and Perspectives on Healthcare

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Wade, V. A., Karnon, J. Elshaug, A., & Hiller, J. E. (2010). A systematic review of economic analyses of telehealth services using real time video communication. BMC Health Service Research,