Fast Facts About Telemedicine

Here are some facts about the newly advancing telemedicine field that you may not know:

• Over 78% of Doctor’s visits can be handled via telemedicine
  
• Overcrowded U.S. emergency rooms see over 136 million visits annually
  
• Only 11% of ER visits end in admission
  
• Rural citizens have to travel an average of 60 miles to receive speciality care
  
• Telemedicine can benefit the nearly 50 million Americans who live in highly remote rural areas without readily available healthcare
  
• Urinary Tract Infections account for over 8 million doctor’s visits annually, and can be easily diagnosed and treated via telemedicine
  
• Over half of U.S. hospitals utilize telemedicine
  
• Telemedicine could deliver over $6 billion in healthcare savings to U.S. companies annually
  
• 67% of healthcare professionals either use, or plan to use some form of telemedicine
  
• The global telemedicine market is forecasted to reach $36 300 000 000 by 2020
  
• According to the TRC, “Mortality rate dropped from 13.6% to 11.8% after tele-ICU was implemented, and length of stay in the ICU fell from 13.3 days of 9.8.”
  
• In 2004 alone, prisons in California utilized 9 000 telemedicine videoconferences for prisoners, saving taxpayers $4 million
  
• Tele-monitoring of chronic conditions reduces ER visits by 83%
  
• Telemedicine companies such as DocChat can correlate specialist video consultations
  
• The average wait-time for a doctor’s appointment in urban areas is 18.5 days
• Over 17% of cell phone owners have used their phones to seek health advice