New analysis from Frost & Sullivan's Pulse of Telehealth 2014 finds that the growing aging population needs to manage and monitor multiple chronic diseases, in turn intensifying the demand for remote patient monitoring as well as mobile telehealth. Telehealth videoconferencing, especially, will emerge as a suitable avenue for primary and specialty healthcare-service delivery. The study is based on interviews conducted with key telehealth stakeholders in conjunction with discussions from the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) annual meeting.

"The momentum for telehealth is building rapidly as the practice of providing remote clinical services becomes entrenched in every aspect of healthcare in North America," said Frost & Sullivan Connected Health Principal Analyst, Nancy Fabozzi. "Technological advancements that deliver rich, connected platforms with high visual and audio quality add to the business case for telehealth."

Despite this incredible potential to transform healthcare, numerous barriers to adoption still exist. Lingering concerns about patient privacy and safety, as well as insufficient public and private reimbursement policies curb the widespread uptake of telehealth.

In addition, users will have to face several "unknowns" in terms of complex state provider licensing and regulatory issues, affecting market growth. The use of telemedicine will gather pace only when leading industry stakeholders establish new guidelines and break down regulatory and reimbursement roadblocks.

"As the scope of telehealth expands, a number of technology and services vendors will make their entry into the market," added Fabozzi. "Disease-specific vendors in particular will seek to capitalize on specialist shortages in critical areas such as mental health and neurology."