Telemedicine, Up Close and Personal

Much of the health care sector often feels distant for investors. We rarely get to see the companies working in these industries up close -- unless a serious medical problem leaves us urgently needing their help. But on a trans-Atlantic flight earlier this week, I got to watch the young and developing telemedicine industry in action.

Broadly described, telemedicine involves drawing on doctors and their expertise from a distance, whether by telephone, video, or the Internet. In my case, a passenger behind me on a flight to Germany apparently had a seizure. The flight attendants, lacking medical training, had to call a doctor in Arizona for advice on how to treat the passenger.

A diverse field
As globalization and outsourcing becomes a larger part of everyday life, and changing demographics put a strain on health-care costs and increase demand for doctors, telemedicine could become an increasingly lucrative market. On my flight, the attendants consulted a doctor from a publicly traded company called MedAire.

MedAire contracts with airlines, cruise lines, and other travel services to provide off-site medical advice, and on-site help when possible, in the case of a medical emergency. It probably isn't a good investment watch list prospect for U.S.-based investors -- it's a tiny micro-cap stock that doesn't trade on U.S. public exchanges -- but it's hardly the only telemedicine company on the market.

Nighthawk Radiology (Nasdaq: NHWK) is best known for helping U.S.-based hospitals interpret radiological images during the night, by contracting with foreign-based radiologists who are working (and awake!) during off-peak hours in the U.S.

Surgical tools developer Intuitive Surgical (Nasdaq: ISRG) has also been involved in telemedicine in the past, developing systems that allow distant doctors to work together during a surgery. There's also the possibility that the company could further integrate its current surgical robotic da Vinci systems with doctors located halfway around the world.

Medical device manufacturers Medtronic (NYSE: MDT) and Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX) are also heavily invested in telemedicine. They offer multiple types of implanted medical devices that can transmit patient data remotely to doctors. (Boston Scientific's updated system just won approval earlier this week.) Remote patient monitoring reduces the need for patients to physically come into a doctor's office for checkups.

Telemedicine is still mostly in its infancy, but as my experience two days ago shows, it's found in more places than you'd think -- including 30,000 feet above the Atlantic.