Pandemic bolsters case for telemedicine in Asia-Pacific

Bloomberg

Overstretched health services and social-distancing measures to combat coronavirus are giving a boost to telemedicine across Asia, a phenomenon likely to continue even after the pandemic has been controlled.
Economies as diverse as South Korea’s — with its world-class technology sector — and India’s, with low health-care costs and a deep pool of doctors, are exploring digital health possibilities at a time when patients may hesitate to visit clinics for fear of catching the virus.
The potential is tremendous: Asia-Pacific’s telemedicine market is expected to grow from $8.5 billion this year to $22.5 billion by 2025, according to a report from Market Data Forecast.
While it’s mostly a domestic phenomenon for now — regulations in many countries make it difficult to consult a doctor abroad — growing acceptance of remote consultations is improving the availability of health care for underserved communities across Asia.
“The benefits to the patient are threefold: better access, cost and outcomes,” said Vikram Kapur, a partner at Bain & Co in Singapore and head of the firm’s healthcare practice in Asia-Pacific. “A telemedicine-enabled system can better triage and steer care through the journey than a disjointed health-care ecosystem.”
In Japan, inquiries about online care have increased 15-fold since the pandemic began, Nikkei reported in May. MyDoc, a telemedicine platform headquartered in Singapore, saw active daily users rise by 60% in February and then double in March, according to a Bain report, while digital-health platforms in Indonesia and Australia also have seen activity surge.
Already on the rise even before Covid, telemedicine use has dramatically accelerated as social distancing became the new norm. Daily use metrics on telemedicine platforms showed year-on-year growth of more than 150% in the first quarter, Kapur said.
“The key element of this impact is the potential to add new patients to the healthcare economy,” said Rafay Ishfaq, who teaches supply chain management at Auburn University’s Harbert College of Business.
“Extended economic benefits are derived by infrastructure and technology investments in the public sector.”