In 2014 it is expected that there will be one hundred million virtual medical consultations worldwide, which implies an increase of 400% compared to 2012. This is the conclusion of a study conducted by the consultancy firm Deloitte.
The widespread use of computers and the Internet, the familiarization of seniors (those who go to the doctor the most) with new technologies and the massive use of smartphones and tablets combined with an affordable high-speed wireless network should generate a craze for virtual consultations, predicts the study.
Online consultations: explosion in the USA and Canada
It is especially in the United States and Canada that Internet consultations will be particularly popular. North America could have as many as 75 million in 2014.
“Family physicians in the United States and Canada see 600 million patients in their offices each year, and in about half of the cases, these are cases that could be resolved with a virtual consultation,” the study says.
For the consulting firm, the European countries most likely to engage in e-visits (online consultations) the fastest are Great Britain and Denmark. In France, virtual visits to the doctor remain essentially limited to “teleconsultation”. This allows the patient to ask questions about his illness and possibly be referred to a medical consultation. “Teleconsultation” was authorized by Decree when the “Patients, health and territory” law was published in 2010.
