Telemedicine has benefited many patients over the years; however, the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic may have resulted in its imperativeness than ever. Earlier, telemedicine was used to offer healthcare assistance in a user-oriented manner, jettisoning the need to pay a visit to the hospital or to a healthcare provider. Telemedicine enabled patients to receive and follow-on public health recommendations and receive quality care on a systematic modulation. Telemedicine is regarded as one of the successful milestones in the healthcare industry—providing countless advantages to both patients and doctors. Let’s find out how telemedicine benefits and how giant healthcare groups can enhance patient care and virtual care systems and spur patient approval and fulfillment.
Common Telemedicine Technological Functions
Having virtual care in an organization can result in efficient and value-added care delivery. Here are some of the kinds of telemedicine technologies and their uses:
- Setting-up Appointment: Instead of face-to-face consultations, patients and healthcare professionals can use digital tools to set-up future appointments.
- Virtual Care Assistance: A professional can hassle-free connect to patients through videoconferencing, utilizing the synchronal digital platform. Virtual visits enable patients and doctors to connect remotely, regardless of their locations. These virtual visits can be used both for low or advanced perspicacity, based upon the requirement of clinical diagnostics collected from the medical devices.
- Modality of storing and forwarding: Through the use of an asynchronous platform, clinicians may record, store, and send medical data and information from a patient visit to a distant provider.
- eConsults: eConsults, as defined by the American Hospital Association, are conversations between a physician and a specialist to share information about a patient and establish a plan of action for future patient care.
- Messaging between providers: This capability, like eConsults, may be used by healthcare professionals to interact and exchange patient information in a safe and secure manner.
How telemedicine may help you provide better treatment to your patients
Some of the primary advantages of telemedicine from the receiving end of treatment are improved engagement, expanded access to care, and improved all-around patient care.
When it comes to telemedicine, it’s important to remember that patient participation is important. According to the Regenstrief Institute (U.S.), over half of patients utilize health information technology to connect with their doctors. This demonstrates a high level of patient acceptance of technology for healthcare access.
Telemedicine rewards for healthcare establishments
Telemedicine’s benefits may be observed all along the treatment continuum. Here are some of the concrete telemedicine advantages that healthcare professionals may expect to experience when they deploy and incorporate the technology:
Medical diagnostics in real-time
Among the most significant aspects of telemedicine is its capacity to transmit precise, real-time data and clinical applications from a patient’s location to a distant clinician in a matter of seconds. This allows clinicians to establish an on-the-spot diagnosis and treatment plan based on high-quality clinical data.
Reduction in the number of people who have to return to the hospital
It should come as no surprise that hospital readmissions constitute a significant expenditure. Telemedicine may be utilized to reduce readmissions, save money, and enhance overall patient care so that patients do not need to return for extra treatment. In fact, according to research published in Applied Clinical Informatics, telemedicine monitoring of weight, heart rate, blood pressure, and blood oxygenation over a year reduced hospital readmission by 19%.
Enriched Clinical Processes
Integrating telemedicine technology into existing workflows or creating new ones might help to improve efficiency. Hospitals and other healthcare institutions may utilize telemedicine to reevaluate present roles and overall procedures with the objective of enhancing patient care across the board, according to Becker’s Hospital Review. It’s simpler to acquire information and offer high-quality treatment in a timely way when coordination increases.
Telemedicine a Benison—During Unforgiving Pandemic
While telemedicine may be used in a variety of situations, there are some occasions when virtual treatment is more appropriate. When telemedicine technologies are used, circumstances where there is a barrier to treatment, such as financial problems or busy schedules, can be overcome.
One of the most popular uses for virtual care is rural health. Someone who lives in a rural location and is too far away from their healthcare provider may not be able to get the high-quality care they require in a timely manner.
During COVID, most healthcare practitioners were forced to use some sort of virtual care to keep in touch with their patients no matter where they were. This applies to all patients, not just those in remote areas.
