Medicare telehealth users and received services U.S. 2016, by age

Telehealth and telemedicine options are increasingly popular health care options in the U.S. With rising healthcare costs globally, it is expected that telehealth and telemedicine will reduce the cost burden of health care for some people. As of 2016, there were about 47 thousand Medicare beneficiaries under the age of 65 that utilized telemedicine. Those 47 thousand beneficiaries utilized telehealth services about 144.5 thousand times during 2016. While telehealth is increasing in popularity, there are still many barriers to telehealth adoption among physicians.