Telemedicine is the perfect solution to India’s healthcare problems. The key reason for this is it brings quality healthcare to the masses.
In a country like India, telemedicine is the only way to bring healthcare to everyone. When in need of healthcare; many living even in tier 3 cities have no alternative than turning to a physician who has questionable qualifications. Those who find poorly qualified physicians are often the lucky ones; those less fortunate may fall prey to quacks that rather than cure an illness exacerbate it.
While not a panacea to the country’s healthcare problems, telemedicine delivered in e-clinics will eventually let millions enjoy a higher standard of living. So what do we expect from telemedicine in 2020, read below to find out.

A Wider Reach
Telemedicine’s reach will expand to dozens of more cities in 2020. This makes sense since players in the telemedicine industry have proven the efficacy of the technology. The experience enjoyed by patients who visit telemedicine clinics is outstanding, so much so that most rate their experience in e-clinics as superior to that in traditional hospitals and clinics.
While today there are a few dozen active e-clinics across India, in a year, dozens more will spring up in tier 3 cities, towns and villages.

A Wholehearted Acceptance of E-clinics
When e-clinics first opened in smaller towns and cities, the public was somewhat reticent to visit them. Initially, they viewed e-clinics with scepticism, but this changed rapidly as word about the successes of e-clinics spread. The publics’ initial doubt turned into wholehearted acceptance of e-clinics. In many places where e-clinics are yet to be inaugurated, their reputation will precede them.
The acceptance of e-clinics will grow among the masses with even higher speed than it did in the past. This year as many e-clinics will be opened as have been inaugurated since e-clinics were born. In the public eye, the perception of e-clinics as outstanding medical facilities has been bolstered. The model has proven its viability beyond doubt.

New Tie-ups with Doctors
E-clinics bring patients to the attention of specialist doctors. They have a simple yet very robust model because the needs of patients remain similar regardless of where they live. Patients in Mumbai or New Delhi suffer from illnesses identical to those patients in small cities, towns and villages do. Hence the expertise of doctors practising in mega hospitals in the most significant cities can be used to treat patients anywhere.
In 2020 there will be even more tie-ups between providers of telemedicine and doctors. While today e-clinics give patients access to physicians of each speciality, physicians with even greater specialities will join telemedicine clinics in the coming year.
The ultimate beneficiary of tie-ups with physicians who have more significant specialities will be consumers. They will have the opportunity to seek a second opinion within a telemedicine clinic.

Overseas Expansion
Telemedicine already has a global footprint. There are telemedicine clinics in remote corners of the world, including in Afghanistan, Uganda, and Myanmar. This trend will accelerate in the year ahead. In 2020 many more e-clinics will become operational in countries whose healthcare infrastructure is sorely lacking. More new clinics will be opened in countries where today they are absent and expand in countries where they are present. This year e-clinics will open in parts of China, an unevenly developed country with huge pockets lacking sound healthcare.
On the cusp of a new decade, telemedicine is poised to disrupt the healthcare sector. Players in the healthcare sector have understood how to deliver exceptional care to millions who lack access to the same. While the industry will expand considerably in 2020, in the next decade, it will grow with even more significant speed, thereby bringing world-class healthcare to the masses.