Telemedicine is a challenging sector for direct B2C service because the health industry consists of a data-sensitive ecosystem that serves a multitude of health and emergency use cases. A major problem with B2C lies with the consumer not being in an educated position to make decisions about their healthcare. Understanding treatment options and coordinating care is a process that often intimidates consumers. Hence, they find it convenient to ‘outsource’ their healthcare to a middleman (insurers or employers).
Moreover, regulations and privacy rules associated with telemedicine are ambiguous and intricate, adding a layer of complexity to the execution of B2C. For example, according to the laws of Georgia, USA, a telemedicine provider must examine a patient using technology that is either equal or superior to an in-person examination. Now, estimating that can be challenging for a telemedicine provider. Moreover, in countries like the US consumers are not used to paying out-of-pocket for receiving healthcare services (barring select programs).
