Healthcare Shift During Pandemic Sees Rapid Growth In Telemedicine Companies

NEW YORK, Sept. 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Doctors in 2020 are seeing more patients than ever through the interface of a smart device, with virtual healthcare visits on track to top one billion by the end of the year. Blue Cross Blue Shield has stated that telehealth use grew 1.6x since last summer, and now McKinsey & Company is now projecting the sector will be worth a quarter trillion dollars in the US healthcare market alone in the near future. Telemedicine's meteoric rise this year has even caused Global X ETFs to create the brand new Global X Telemedicine & Digital Health ETF, which will track the rapid growth of companies in the sector that now includes CloudMD Software & Services Inc. (TSXV: DOC) (OTCPK: DOCRF), Teladoc Health (NYSE: TDOC), 1Life Healthcare, Inc. (NASDAQ: ONEM), WELL Health Technologies (TSX: WELL) (OTCPK: WLYYF), and Telus Corporation (NYSE: TU) (TSX: T).

For North American healthcare providers, the tech revolution shift into virtual medical care is akin to the changing of the guard from Blockbuster Video to Netflix. This is why the current telehealth market can successfully launch earlier stage SAAS-based health technology providers such as CloudMD Software & Services Inc. (DOC.V – DOCRF.PK), which grew to over 100,000 registered users on their telehealth app with over 3,000 licensed practitioners who represent nearly 3 million patients within a period of months.

CloudMD Software & Services Inc. (DOC.V – DOCRF.PK) has been accelerating its growth through the on-boarding of medical clinics across North America. What's more, through a reseller agreement with IDYA4 to sell its Livecare flagship platform, the company is set for a major US expansion.

IDYA4's clients aren't small, with major US government agencies such as the US Department of Justice, and Homeland Security, as well as Deloitte, GTL, SAIC, and the New York State Education Department.

Also from a developmental standpoint, CloudMD Software & Services Inc. (DOC.V – DOCRF.PK) has also partnered with IBM's Watson AI to enhance its platforms that include Livecare. By integrating Watson AI's capabilities into the patient-centric telemedicine app, CloudMD can significantly free up clinical staff's time. AI-based technologies, such as voice-to-text transcription, can improve administrative workflows and eliminate time-consuming non-patient-care activities.