TELEMEDICINE, one of the industries with significant growth during the pandemic, should continue to adapt to emerging trends and innovations to sustain demand in the Philippines, experts said.
Dominic Vincent D. Ligot, founder of Cirrolytix, a social impact technology company, said in an e-mail that over the five years, telemedicine services in the country have grown significantly, especially in fields such as psychiatry and cardiology.
“The COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic catalyzed telemedicine adoption worldwide, including in the Philippines,” Christine C. Rodriguez, operations head at Mindcare Club, a telemental health service provider, said in an e-mail.
Telemedicine involves the delivery of healthcare services over digital information and communication technologies. It gained ground during the pandemic as lockdowns forced millions to stay at home. This allowed people to consult with medical professionals through e-mail, video and voice calls.
“Post-pandemic, sustained usage is largely attributed to its convenience and accessibility,” she said. “Telemedicine saves patients time and travel costs while offering flexible scheduling options, making it a preferred choice even if in-person consultations become more available.”
Carlo C. Flordeliza, chief marketing officer of Kindred Health, Inc., noted that younger generations have driven telemedicine adoption in the Philippines.
“The highest adoption really came from millennials and Gen Z,” he told BusinessWorld in an interview. “I think you know they grew up with the internet. They’re more comfortable about trying out new and innovative services.” Mr. Flordeliza said older people are usually turned off from using telemedicine services because of lengthy registration processes on the website or apps.
Hybrid care, where telemedicine is combined with in-person consultations, is also gaining traction, Mr. Flordeliza said.
“Telemedicine will continue to grow because people will find value in what it provides but at the same time, I don’t think it’s going to grow as exponentially as it did during the pandemic,” he said.
Limitations of telemedicine were exposed after hospitals and other healthcare facilities reopened after the pandemic.
“While telemedicine is accessible and convenient, it doesn’t really provide the end-to-end healthcare journey or treatment plan a customer or a patient may have,” Mr. Flordeliza said.
“So it’s going to continue to grow, but it will only grow if there is an online to offline component wherein people can actually continue their treatment plans, get their test, get their diagnostics, and get the surgeries and medicines that they need outside of the confines of a teleconsult,” he added.
GROWTH DRIVERSMeanwhile, Ms. Rodriguez said the growth in the telemedicine sector is expected to be driven by affordability and accessibility.
In the case of Mindcare Club, she said increasing awareness about mental health has helped boost growth.
According to Mr. Ligot, artificial intelligence (AI) integration for predictive analytics and personalized care plans is one of the anticipated breakthroughs for the telemedicine industry in 2025 that will enable “better management of chronic conditions and enhancing patient engagement.”
Other trends include advanced diagnostic tools, virtual health assistants, and enhanced mobile applications.
“AI can enhance Philippine telemedicine by improving diagnostic accuracy, personalizing treatment plans, predicting disease outbreaks, and managing patient data effectively,” he said.
“AI algorithms can analyze medical images for early detection of conditions like cancer, while virtual assistants can streamline patient interactions and reduce workloads for healthcare providers,” he added.
At the same time, Ms. Rodriguez said improved integration of telemedicine with Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and more immersive patient-doctor interactions via augmented reality (AR) can be expected in the future.
She noted “more developed” Western countries are using AI-powered chatbots for initial symptom checks and triage; telepsychiatry consultations; and smart watches to monitor patient’s vital signs remotely.
However, Ms. Rodriguez said the growth of telemedicine in the Philippines face hurdles such as lack of internet accessibility, patients’ limited consultation budgets, and lack of digital literacy. — Almira Louise S. Martinez
