Since its inception, telemedicine has remained a fairly niche industry, owing to a combination of strict governmental regulations, lack of patient interest, and lack of investment by large companies. With the outbreak of Covid-19, however, that has changed quite dramatically - demand for online consultations has soared in the wake of social distancing, and companies, both newcomers to the telemedicine industry and hardened veterans alike, are scrambling to meet it.
Teladoc, the largest pure telemedicine company in the US, has reported a 50% increase in service since the outbreak started and is attempting to aggressively recruit new doctors through social media ads and higher pay rates to match the demand. Kry International AB, another telemedicine company in Europe, has experienced a 200% increase in downloads of its service’s app and brought more than 500 doctors into its network since the outbreak started. The Trump administration, in response to this, has loosened healthcare privacy regulations to help facilitate online consultations, hoping to push the industry’s growth even further.
Undoubtedly, telemedicine is currently a rising industry - that is not to say, however, that this will be smooth sailing for current telemedicine companies. Competition is beginning to roll in, with heavy hitters in the biotech and healthcare industries attempting to stake their claims on the market - who will come out on top when the dust settles remains to be seen.
The lesson of this article is an oft-repeated, but no less valuable one - companies do not operate in a vacuum and must always be ready to respond to an evolving external environment. Certainly, no one expects a global pandemic (and certainly, no one should want such a thing to happen), but reality seems to make a habit of defying our expectations - it is for this reason that adaptability in the face of changing circumstances is key to the continued wellbeing of a company. This can be seen most clearly in crisis situations like the Covid-19 outbreak, but this is hardly any less important when things are business as usual. Change occurs in both great leaps and subtle steps; the environment in which we do business today is all but unrecognizable compared to how it was a decade ago. Companies that recognize this and respond accordingly will remain competitive; companies that don’t will stagnate and be left behind.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/telemedicine-once-a-hard-sell-cant-keep-up-with-demand-11585734425
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