So long, doctor house calls...hello doctor Skype calls?
A study by the networking solutions provider, Cisco, shows that a growing number of Indian people are looking to options like telemedicine and video conferencing with doctors for healthcare efficiency.
Cisco reports that 88 percent of the Indian population surveyed feel fine interacting with doctors virtually rather than in person, indicative of the value in that technology. Eighty-seven percent indicate that they would trust technology to determine whether an in-person doctor visit is required.
Ninety-four percent of those surveyed indicated that they are willing to store their health records in a highly secure cloud system for healthcare officials to access anytime. Nearly half the consumers questioned were warm to the idea of getting health information through social media channels, and more than half would like to see appointment reminders and other personalized health services delivered via social media channels.
The study, conducted in early 2013, included 1,547 consumers and healthcare decision makers of Indian heritage – with a sample size of roughly 200 respondents in each of the 10 countries of interest.
The vice president and general manager of Cisco, Vishal Gupta, pointed out that the virtual healthcare of which these respondents are hypothetically accepting “is no longer myth,” and that this report shows how “technology can potentially play a greater role in enabling access to virtual healthcare.”
The new technology is already inching its way into use. Accessing health information via mobile apps, the study found, is a growing trend in India, Mexico, Brazil and China.
Edited by
Braden Becker
