Telemedicine: 3 Emerging Trends to Know 

Telemedicine has been on a roll — and shows no signs of slowing down. What became possible with the telephone and even radios a century ago exploded in the 1990s with the arrival of the internet. Telemedicine blew up again in the 2010s when smartphones and broadband came on the scene, and most recently it accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite some post-COVID cooldown, telemedicine’s trajectory is still pointing up, keeping pace with the lightning speed of technology advancements as well as shifts in the modern healthcare landscape as patients and providers focus in on where and how telemedicine has the most impact. 

While the future of telemedicine continues to unfold in exciting ways, there are some emerging trends in telemedicine on the immediate horizon that will have significant impacts on patient care and how providers like you are delivering that care. 

Emerging Trends in Telemedicine

1. AI

AI is everywhere, so it’s no surprise it tops our list of trends. Coming off 2024’s AI expansion, 2025 is already delivering more of the same. More AI tools. More capability enhancements. And more upside for providers and patients alike, affecting operations, patient care, and patient outcomes.  

Virtual health assistants, powered by AI, screen patients without an office visit, saving the patient time and, for some, increasing the likelihood that a patient will seek interaction at all. This also saves time for providers and staff, who can then focus on other important areas like care plan development and patient care.  

AI is also empowering providers with predictive analytics for early disease detection as well as AI-guided decision support with evidence-based recommendations for diagnosis and treatment to optimize patient care. 

Generative AI in documentation and coding is significantly boosting administrative efficiency, by creating process improvements — like generating referrals and claim submissions — as well as increasing error reduction. 

Healthcare IT News interviewed one telehealth leader who projected “2025 will mark the moment when AI in healthcare transcends the hype cycle and demonstrates measurable value through practical applications that improve clinical workflows.” According to the article, specialty care delivery in particular will be transformed as AI-enabled virtual platforms mature into sophisticated remote presence systems. The result? Specialists will be able to reach patients across geographic boundaries in new ways, directly and via local care teams. 

2. Wearables & RPM

Wearables and medical monitoring devices continue to grow in availability and sophistication, enabling providers to better leverage the technology to enhance the telemedicine experience by integrating remote patient monitoring (RPM). As confidence in patient data collected by wearables and remote devices increases, the better a patient’s condition can be monitored and analyzed, allowing for better identification of trends in addition to more timely interventions.  

Whether for chronic disease management like heart disease and diabetes, or simply checking vital signs during triage or consultations, improvements in telemedicine experiences leads to better patient care, patient engagement, and patient satisfaction, as well as the most important: patient outcomes. Especially for patients who are in remote locations, who are in underserved areas, or who cannot easily attend in-person visits, this trend delivers what could be game-changing access to the care these patients need.  

RPM is also foundational to hospital-at-home programs, allowing patients to remain or recover at home instead of in the hospital — a major impact for hospital staffing and operations. In addition, it’s fueling the rise of hybrid care models, combining in-person visits with telemedicine for more personalized, flexible patient care. 

3. Cyber Threats

Where there’s data, there are cybercriminals ready to pounce. Unfortunately the healthcare industry is a major magnet for cyber threats, which are projected to continue escalating in 2025. Protecting patient data from bad actors is always top of mind, and developments in cybersecurity continually strive to keep up as technology and AI advance — along with criminal sophistication. Provider systems and networks, hosting platforms, and even monitoring devices that collect and transmit data are all vulnerable links in the telemedicine data chain. Data breaches, unauthorized access, and session hijacking are real risks.  

In January the Department of Health and Human Services Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center released a report with recommendations for securing telehealth environments. Work with your IT experts and 3rd party providers to ensure your telemedicine systems and protocols are protected end to end. You can also consider cyber liability insurance coverage, which is something the MSV Insurance Agency provides.