Telemedicine Advancements Around the World

“Ugh I’m feeling so sick… I don’t feel like dragging myself to the clinic and waiting in line; it's going to take forever!”

Have you ever seen yourself in such a situation? Relegated to stay and rot at home? Many, including the elderly and patients with serious illnesses, are familiar with this feeling. Other than the fact that some possess mobility issues or are bedridden, it’s just plain inconvenient to needlessly spend time going to the hospital, especially if the hospital is not that accessible. 

The drive to find a solution to this issue was exacerbated by the lockdown imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, with many who had contracted the disease being unable to consult doctors when they needed them the most. Upon easing of restrictions, it was still difficult to obtain the care that patients needed due to manpower shortages. As a result, many countries around the world turned to telemedicine to resolve it.

Projected Global Telemedicine Market Between 2019 and 2029 (in billion US Dollars) | (How Telehealth Has Impacted the Healthcare Industry | Impact)

Take India, with its e-Sanjeevani initiative. It is named after a mythical herb that is said to lend immortality to consumers, which is a fitting name, seeing the amount of people this initiative has impacted and saved. It is a simple system with options for the patient to come into contact with the healthcare practitioner directly through a device. The system also enabled virtual prescriptions to be administered. Alternatively, the patient could head to a nearby Health & Wellness Centre (HWC), which are staffed by community nurses, and receive their ePrescription and the necessary drugs on the spot. This sounds like basic telemedicine practices, but with India being the most populous nation in the world, the scale at which the practices are carried out is much larger than ever before. 

Of course, there are bound to be hurdles at every step. It was a big jump in scale for data centres across the country to handle the huge spikes in usage of the technology. It also required a tremendous effort by the e-Sanjeevani team to train medical workers how to use digital tools to assess a patient. It was even more difficult for some patients who lived in rural areas, where internet penetration was low, to develop trust in the platform. However, relentless promotion of the initiative through social media and banners at local HWCs helped in this aspect. 

In comparison, Singapore, one of the smallest nations by land area, happens to be a frontrunner in Asia regarding telemedicine adoption and healthcare system efficiency, with many clinics and applications in the small city-state offering telemedicine as an option to obtain Medical Certificates (MCs) apart from drugs. Additionally, many members of the European Union have incorporated telemedicine into their healthcare systems, with the UK already having a mature market for it before the pandemic.

Other countries with a great land area such as the United States of America and Australia have also readily adopted telemedicine to serve isolated communities that may find it inconvenient to travel great distances to receive healthcare. However, due to the reliance on the Internet and technology, telemedicine remains inaccessible to the developing world, where receiving traditional treatments in itself is a tall order. Much progress is needed in these nations’ healthcare systems before telemedicine can be a part of it.

We have come a long way from the chaos 2020 bestowed upon the world, and so has the telemedicine industry. New innovations such as AI-powered virtual healthcare solutions have already been implemented by countries such as the USA. For example, Navina, a startup company, developed AI-based data analysis technology that sifts through electronic health record systems to provide clinical insights, flag potential diagnoses, identify risk factors, and detect medication conflicts.

Telemedicine has a bright future ahead, and it has the potential to become even brighter with the upgrade of infrastructure across the world to support it.

Written By: Chandrahas Anand

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Works Cited

Chaturvedi, Udit, et al. “The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Remote Healthcare: Enhancing Patient Engagement, Connectivity, and Overcoming Challenges.” Intelligent Pharmacy, Jan. 2025, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ipha.2024.12.003.

Consolidated Telemedicine Implementation Guide. World Health Organization, 2022, iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/364221/9789240059184-eng.pdf.

Torrence, Rebecca. “Here’s an Exclusive Look at the Pitch Deck That Landed Healthcare AI Copilot Navina $55 Million in Funding From Goldman Sachs.” Business Insider, 25 Mar. 2025, www.businessinsider.com/navina-raised-55-million-goldman-sachs-series-c-pitch-deck-2025-3?utm_source=chatgpt.com.

X-Byte Enterprise Solutions. “Telemedicine Trends in 2025: Whats Next for Virtual Healthcare.” X-Byte Enterprise Solutions, www.xbytesolutions.com/blog/telemedicine-trends-in-2025-virtual-healthcare.php

Tran, Billy. “13 Doctor Teleconsultations From Home With Reviews if You Don’t Have the Strength to Go GP.” TheSmartLocal - Singapore’s Leading Travel and Lifestyle Portal, 26 Mar. 2025, thesmartlocal.com/read/telemedicine-singapore.