Medicine has always been a hands-on field. Methods and accuracy may have changed, but for centuries diagnosis has required an in-person visit to the doctor.

Telehealth is promising to change that.

Advances in technology mean that doctors can now consult with patients and monitor vital statistics online. And as COVID-19 makes physical visits a potential infection risk, clinics and healthcare centers worldwide are adopting telehealth solutions in a win-win solution for both patients and the industry.

“I’ve been spending a few sessions with doctors online, and it’s really great,” said Eric Gray (pictured), chief solutions architect at NetScout Systems Inc. “I’ve got no waiting. I’ve got a longer window of time with my physician. It’s a better interaction for me. And, overall, it’s going to save the healthcare company a significant amount of money.”

Gray spoke with Stu Miniman, host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, for a digital CUBE Conversation on the need for secure network solutions for telehealth. (* Disclosure below.)

Online interactions drive 20-30x increase in bandwidth demand by healthcare providers

A better experience for the patient, coupled with decreased costs for the provider has made telehealth a fast-growing sector. And the impact of COVID-19 accelerated that growth. The market value was $49.8 billion in 2018. In July 2019, this was predicted to rise above $130 billion by 2025, and post-COVID estimates now show a potential $266.8 billion reach by 2026.

But telehealth is more than the doctor-patient interaction, which is generally known as telemedicine. The broader field encompasses three areas, according to Gray: what happens prior to the online visit; the consultation itself; and the back-end after the call. To make telemedicine successful, providers need to make sure the doctor has access to the technology needed for the visit; the connection for the call is high quality in both video and audio; and the records and billing systems are secure and easily accessible.

As medicine makes the shift to telehealth, network demand has increased exponentially. “I’ve had customers that have talked to me about a 20-to-30-times increase in the amount of bandwidth necessary and the amount of technology needed in order to facilitate these conversations,” Gray said.

With IT teams scrambling, NetScout saw an opportunity to step in and facilitate secure, high-speed connections for telehealth applications.

“At NetScout, we’ve been in this business of being able to secure and monitor enterprise and service provider networks for the last 35-plus years,” Gray stated. “So as we look at applying our technology towards this telemedicine experience, it seemed like a perfect fit for us.”

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s CUBE Conversations. (* Disclosure: Neither NetScout Systems Inc. the sponsor for theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE