That bill recently passed and is set to take effect in September.

“What we used to be fighting about is, 'What can technology do?'” Nora Belcher, executive director of the Texas e-Health Alliance, said in mid-2016. “Now we’re talking about what technology should do.”


The Harvard researchers warned, however, that despite this newly growing adoption of telemedicine, much still needs to be studied concerning its overall and long-term impact on health care quality and effectiveness, at least in the mental health arena.

"This work provides us with crucial information as we move forward to understand whether the rapid rise in mental telehealth actually translates into better patient outcomes,” said co-investigator Sherri Rose, associate professor of health care policy at Harvard Medical School.

In April, HIMSS Analytics released new research that explored the opportunities and challenges of telemedicine, and found that trending information showed “a positive outlook” for its adoption.

"Whether free-standing practice, urban or rural hospital, academic medical center or critical access facility, health care organizations are finding new and creative ways to leverage telemedicine to provide new services and further engage with patients," said Brendan FitzGerald, director of research, HIMSS Analytics, in a statement. "There are countless telemedicine technologies in the market today, from two-way videos and webcams, to tablet and mobile applications. With the move toward value-based care, population health and more personalized care delivery, incorporating telemedicine solutions and services can offer benefits to physicians and patients not previously seen in health care."

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