Click here for care: Healthcare in an "on-demand" world

Pam Pallett, a data scientist at Fuse by Cardinal Health, the company's innovation center, said it's also a huge convenience for people with busy lives—whether it's a working parent needing a follow up for a child’s bout of bronchitis, a business person who can videoconference a mental health appointment during his or her lunch hour, or a senior with long-term care needs who can no longer drive to the doctor's office.

“One of the big questions people tend to have is, 'what if I need a lab or my blood pressure measured?'" said Pallett. But on-demand healthcare can cover that too. A virtual doctor can either refer patients to a local lab or imaging center, while in-person physicians can travel with a host of portable equipment.

Naysayers point out that on-demand won't have the care continuum of a “medical home," physicians may not have access to patient histories, or even that it may commoditize the industry. Patients could also become too reliant on on-demand care since its convenience and cost are in their favor.

However, many of these hurdles have been considered. Furthermore, on-demand care should not replace an annual exam or a relationship with a primary care provider but offer an adjunct to that care. “Even if this isn't the optimal way to have a doctor's visit, it is still much better than not seeing a doctor at all," said Pallett.

Much like ride-share services disrupted the transportation industry, the emergence of on-demand healthcare may be viewed as a disruption to the business of traditional healthcare. In reality, it offers yet another low-cost, convenient patient choice.

"On-demand care is already making a large impact on the healthcare industry, driving organizations to be more consumer-centric and fundamentally changing the way that care is delivered today," Abrams said. "As on-demand healthcare becomes more common, organizations will see a shift from care performed in centralized acute facilities, to more care being performed in individual households."

Additionally, Pallett suggested that insurance providers might eventually offer more on-demand services, creating new options for the insured, while the uninsured might have a lower-cost route to healthcare. She added that it’s possible that more independent on-demand companies will pop up nationally, while major health systems will continue to expand on-demand care access for patients.

Although this care model is still in its infancy, it is evident that healthcare organizations will have to adapt to the "on-demand" economy in order to stay in demand with today’s patient population.