Telehealth is becoming the new normal due to advancements in interactive technologies
Around 76% of the US healthcare facilities connected with the consultants and patients at a distance through the use of video or other interactive technologies during the recent outbreak of COVID-19, according to the data from American Hospital Association (AHA). The AHA mentioned that almost every state in the US now has some sort of coverage for telehealth services in their health programs. Also, the private health sector is embracing the telehealth trends for the swift delivery of healthcare services. Yet, the wider adoption is facing some barriers in the overall health industry.
What is telehealth and how it started?
Telehealth is a broad term that covers different technologies and practices. It mainly refers to healthcare services at a distance by the use of audio and video interactive technologies. Initially, it started with telephone calls during the early 20th century. Consultants used to deliver the instructions over the phone to save time and energy. With time, phone calls were replaced with video calls. Since then, telehealth didn’t show a big uptake in the overall US health industry until the era of COVID-19. The outbreak of this virus enlightened the need as well as the adoptability of telehealth services in the industry.
How pandemic change the telehealth industry?
In March 2020, the US federal healthcare administrative agency CMS issued a temporary order that allowed the reimbursement for virtual visits to physicians. This step robustly increased the trends of video care. Previously, video care trends were limited and virtual calls were used just for follow-up and information purposes. The COVID-19 opened the possibilities for non-traditional means of healthcare services. The video visits grew exponentially during the pandemic as it is a safe and effective way to continue care during these hard times. Also, the quality of virtual visits has increased a lot. Now with the new technologies, a physician can better monitor the patients remotely by receiving their health indicators like blood pressure, oxygen level, weight, and blood sugar level.
Real-world uses of telehealth
Telehealth finds its applications in various medical fields, consists of a variety of medical modalities and delivery methods aided with reliable audio/video interactive technologies. Some of the common uses in terms of broad categories include patient monitoring, patient education, and consultation. Apart from that, there are numerous specific fields where telehealth is effective.
With the introduction of digital imaging technologies, an opportunity developed for radiologists to provide teleradiology services. With the aid of interactive technologies, doctors assess the medical images at a distance and provide care to their patients. It is one of the most successfully adopted trends in the telehealth industry and many clinics around the world provide this facility. It is easy for a physician to virtually analyze the x-ray images from anywhere in the world through internet access, and provide live health guidelines at a time. Many health industry analysts believe that teleradiology is efficient towards diagnosis as it can involve several specialized interpretations from different doctors around the world through online discussions.
Another important application of telehealth is teleconsultation which proved its effectiveness during the lockdown of COVID-19. It is also considered as a solution to provide basic medical services in far-flung areas. Teleconsultation uses video technologies and fast internet to establish connectivity between healthcare providers and patients. The consultants use video conference tools to examine the patients and prescribe the treatment accordingly. Teleconsultation can also be used to provide information to the patients with specific health issues, monitor the treatment, and advice the patients for the appropriate services they need.
Telehealth is also effective in remote patient monitoring. It was among the first uses of telehealth. It allows the healthcare providers to watch the vital signs continuously from a distance and provide the instructions to the nurses, staff, or family members who are present physically for patient’s care. The use of remote critical patient monitoring proved to reduce healthcare costs as well as mortality rates. The growing number of elderly patients who need intensive care, increase the demand for remote monitoring in the healthcare industry.
Remote retinal imaging is a critical field seeking the attention of the telehealth industry. According to the published reports, the increased rate of premature births in the US augmented the risk of retinopathy (potential bling illness) in infants. On the other hand, the available qualified specialists are limited in numbers to diagnose this disease at the initial stage. In this scenario, the telehealth industry finds an opportunity to provide remote retinal imaging to diagnose the patients who are at risk otherwise.
Telehealth is a solution to modernize the health sector
The implementation of telehealth trends provides tremendous benefits both for the healthcare provider and seekers. It can expand the healthcare services and make them approachable for an extensive customer range. It can revolutionize the health industry and reduce the load on the infrastructure. From prompt diagnosis to early treatment, the telehealth services showed huge potential benefits for the patients. For doctors, it can increase the availability of knowledge from other professionals with the help of prompt video conferencing tools. Also, the studies show that telehealth services result in cost reduction. The patients need fewer visits that save traveling costs. The healthcare providers save the cost in terms of infrastructure and improved availability time. The geographical limitation is removed with the introduction of telehealth technologies and improved access to healthcare professionals and services.
Although, EIG PRO does not produce telehealth software, we can assist in the structure foundation of the AV System such as:
Integrated Areas & Way-Finders
Medical Education & Training Rooms
Healthcare Administration Boardrooms
Video Conferencing and Collaboration
Waiting Rooms & Patient Rooms
Digital Signage, Wayfinding and Streaming Media
Distance Consultation Rooms
Mobile Video Conferencing Solution
In conclusion, telehealth has vast potential for the expansion of the healthcare industry. Distance care services proved their adoptability and demonstrated their life-saving abilities during the hard times of COVID-19. It is the need of time when the population is increasing so is the load on hospitals and clinics. It can reduce costs and improved access to healthcare, especially in difficult geographical areas. Although the basic methods of telehealth have been around since the start of the 20th century, the breakthroughs came recently with the advancement in video technologies and reliable internet connectivity. We at EIG PRO, provides various interactive technologies and video conferencing solutions to facilitates the technical needs of numerous sectors.
Patient and Common Area TVs and Displays • Head-ends for Customized Content Delivery • Patient Entertainment Programming • Overhead Paging Systems • Control Room Systems • Sound Masking • Secure Room Communications for Behavioral Health Compliance • Custom Audio System Outlets and Components for Noise Control • TV Solutions for Isolation Rooms • Hospital-wide Messaging Systems • Digital Signage • Wayfinding Systems
