With the rise of healthcare costs, telehealth has offered cost-effective solutions to patients, physicians, providers, and payor networks alike. While telehealth seeks to impact wellness and prevention it is also reducing the time and costs associated with virtual care. According to studies, a virtual visit costs up to $40 to $50 whereas an in-person visit can cost up to $200. Many large companies are making telehealth available to their employees now offering virtual care solutions.
Although virtual care is the silver lining, laboratory testing being a critical part of treatment breaks its continuum. With an estimation of 4-5 billion tests conducted each year only in the United States, lab testing is the highest-volume medical activity. Simply because it provides the most appropriate way to offer a confident diagnosis and treatment.
The evolution of the virtual care movement has been convenience centric so why has this not become a key component of telehealth? Nowadays, consumers are longing for on-demand services delivering instant gratification with flexibility. If the idea behind virtual consultation is efficiency and convenience, then making the process of lab testing as easy as possible should also be given priority.
A traditional setting of lab tests can take days but telehealth is allowing patients to connect with testing centers seamlessly. Patients also have the option of scheduling an in-house visit from the lab technicians. The incorporation of convenient methods of lab tests in virtual health will make the process less time consuming and it will eventually transform into a mainstream trend of patient care.
Today’s tech world revolves around consumers. The era of telehealth will follow the same footprint in the evolving healthcare industry. Unconventional partnerships that incorporate lab testing in virtual care prove that the consumer has always been at the top of mind for creating new technology in healthcare services.