[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/long-windy-road.jpg” thumb_width=”250″ /]Telemedicine consults between doctors and with their patients are, at long last, progressing on the Long And Winding Road, according to this sizable recap in the Life and Health section of this weekend’s Wall Street Journal. The focus is on virtual visit growth in the US, but it opens with Doctors Without Borders (MSF) connecting their doctors in Africa with their specialist network worldwide. Mercy Health provides 24/7 ICU/ER support for 38 local hospitals out of a Virtual Care Center outside St. Louis manned by ICU specialists. Their results? A 35 percent decrease in patients’ average length of stay and 30 percent fewer deaths than anticipated. The important statistics here are on acceptance: 72 percent of hospitals and 52 percent of practices are finally integrating some form of telemedicine into care; 74 percent of large employers are covering telemedicine cost–yet awareness is still lagging among prospective patients, with only 39 percent familiar with it according to a recent survey. Challenges remain in reimbursement (more…)