Telemedicine is poised to create a significant impact on the way patients are diagnosed, monitored and treated. It is also going to play an important role in keeping the population healthy in the future. That is the conventional wisdom and there is no reason to dispute it.

However, it is not clear exactly how the “game will be played out”. The technology may be accessible, but the various players may not be willing to adopt it and standards that would allow seamless integration may not exist (e.g., physicians having global versus state specific licenses). There are too many stakeholders with differing agendas and too many barriers. To further complicate the matter, the future development of telemedicine will depend on many factors, some within the control of its stakeholders and some not within their control.

To say that the roadmap of telemedicine is uncertain, and its promises are hard to fathom, is of little solace to organizations and companies that need to place their bets now. There are opportunities that can change the fortunes of an organization and risks that can equally and swiftly erase it. How well the opportunities are exploited and how effectively the risks are managed depends to a great extent on the actions that are taken now, just as Telemedicine seems poised to take off. One can not wait for the events to unfold before making crucial decisions.

Predicting how telemedicine will develop, what are the implications of its development, and what are the best ways to respond is similar to constructing a jigsaw puzzle. Monitor, in partnership with Financial Times, is initiating a program to help senior members of the stakeholder community arrange these pieces together to produce a clear picture and actionable results.