Adrian Johansen11.11.21
The COVID-19 pandemic isn’t just the most significant public health crisis of the modern era, it has also been a litmus test of the global health system. And, in many ways, the virus has caught us flat-footed. Medical technologists, however, are scrambling to rapidly develop solutions not only to meet current needs but also to prepare for future demands.
This includes technologies to facilitate faster, safer, and more accurate diagnosis of COVID-19. And as diagnostic capacity improves, so, too, does the capacity of the global health system to prepare for and quickly mitigate future pandemics. But it begins, principally, with enabling those who may be infected to detect and respond to the illness early through the immense and growing power of telehealth devices.
But that does not mean that caregivers and consumers are without resources while they await the development and approval of coronavirus diagnostic technologies. In fact, telemedicine may be the most significant tool for the early and accurate detection of the disease.
Even before the pandemic, the global health system faced a severe and worsening shortage of healthcare providers. As the infection rates surged, the sudden and unexpected increase in demand threatened to overwhelm the system.
Telehealth, however, served both to decrease the pressure on the healthcare system while also facilitating coronavirus diagnosis. More specifically, telehealth helps to minimize the use of health resources by allowing patients to receive efficient and effective care from home.
For instance, telehealth apps that can be downloaded to consumers’ smartphones are proving invaluable for contact tracing. These apps can allow users to identify infection hot zones in their area, and even to receive alerts when they may have come into contact with an infected person.
For those who think they may be infected, smartphone apps help users to monitor potential COVID symptoms and risk factors. Still other apps are facilitating by enabling at-home testing, including new technology that enables viral RNA testing strips to be photographed, uploaded to a special smartphone app, and analyzed through machine learning. And every tool that supports at-home monitoring and diagnosis means more rapid treatment and quarantining, less pressure on the traditional healthcare system, and fewer resources consumed in in-person care.
At the same time, the capacity to evaluate and triage patients, including potential COVID patients, from home further protects the healthcare system by ensuring that patients who may be infected do not expose others at the clinic. Additionally, the ability to access remote care from the comfort of home, as opposed to waiting in a crowded clinic or testing center, can motivate patients to be evaluated sooner, reducing the number of people an infected person will come into contact with before diagnosis.
Fewer infections and more efficient patient care resulting from telehealth facilitate more rapid and more accurate COVID diagnoses for two principal reasons. First, healthcare providers are less likely to be burned out, overly fatigued, and excessively rushed in their patient consultations. And that means they will be more effective in detecting even the earliest or least expected signs of an incipient COVID infection.
In many states, for example, Family Nurse Practitioners are trained to give cradle-to-grave care, often offering the kind of care that a family doctor or primary care physician (PNP) would provide. FNPs also tend to specialize in serving at-risk, underserved populations, including rural communities, through both in-person and telehealth platforms. Indeed, in recent years, nurse practitioner education has strongly emphasized telehealth training as an important mechanism for reaching these marginalized patient populations.
Today, in the face of the ongoing pandemic, FNPs can use their telehealth training to evaluate and triage potential COVID patients, ensuring more rapid diagnosis. Through virtual office visits using video conferencing, FNPs can access and evaluate patients who may be infected. Being able to see, hear, and speak with patients in this way helps to ensure that patients receive the care they need, without risking further disease transmission. Additionally, remote monitoring devices, such as at-home pulse oxygen monitors, further increase healthcare providers’ potential to detect a COVID infection.
At best, remote medical exams can only allow healthcare providers to screen prospective COVID patients and to refer those with clinically significant symptoms or risk factors to treatment centers for in-person testing and further care. This is an important step in using technology to diagnose the disease, but it is not a sufficient one.
For that reason, medical technology enterprises have been committed to the development of accurate, affordable, and easy-to-use at-home tests. Though the results of these endeavors have thus far been mixed, new diagnostic technologies continue to emerge. Among the most promising is a rapid, at-home test which is used in conjunction with patients’ smartphones to ensure accurate results by reducing user error.
Technologists anticipate that such devices will not only provide fast, cost-efficient, and reliable self-tests for COVID-19, but also future disease outbreaks. If the current pandemic has taught us anything, after all, it is how small and interconnected our world is. In an increasingly mobile world, where fast, international travel makes geographic distance meaningless, the likelihood of further pandemics of infectious viral diseases is high. Early diagnosis, as we have learned all too well in the last 18 months, is key to minimizing the spread.
This includes technologies to facilitate faster, safer, and more accurate diagnosis of COVID-19. And as diagnostic capacity improves, so, too, does the capacity of the global health system to prepare for and quickly mitigate future pandemics. But it begins, principally, with enabling those who may be infected to detect and respond to the illness early through the immense and growing power of telehealth devices.
The Role of Telemedicine
When we consider the role of technology in diagnosing COVID, testing technologies may seem to be the most obvious solutions. However, these tools are still in the preliminary stages of testing and rollout.But that does not mean that caregivers and consumers are without resources while they await the development and approval of coronavirus diagnostic technologies. In fact, telemedicine may be the most significant tool for the early and accurate detection of the disease.
Even before the pandemic, the global health system faced a severe and worsening shortage of healthcare providers. As the infection rates surged, the sudden and unexpected increase in demand threatened to overwhelm the system.
Telehealth, however, served both to decrease the pressure on the healthcare system while also facilitating coronavirus diagnosis. More specifically, telehealth helps to minimize the use of health resources by allowing patients to receive efficient and effective care from home.
For instance, telehealth apps that can be downloaded to consumers’ smartphones are proving invaluable for contact tracing. These apps can allow users to identify infection hot zones in their area, and even to receive alerts when they may have come into contact with an infected person.
For those who think they may be infected, smartphone apps help users to monitor potential COVID symptoms and risk factors. Still other apps are facilitating by enabling at-home testing, including new technology that enables viral RNA testing strips to be photographed, uploaded to a special smartphone app, and analyzed through machine learning. And every tool that supports at-home monitoring and diagnosis means more rapid treatment and quarantining, less pressure on the traditional healthcare system, and fewer resources consumed in in-person care.
Virtual Care
Another powerful tool for COVID diagnosis has been the use of virtual care. Patients can be evaluated more quickly through video or telephone consultations, while at the same time allowing clinicians to dedicate time and space only to patients who require in-person care in the clinic or hospital.At the same time, the capacity to evaluate and triage patients, including potential COVID patients, from home further protects the healthcare system by ensuring that patients who may be infected do not expose others at the clinic. Additionally, the ability to access remote care from the comfort of home, as opposed to waiting in a crowded clinic or testing center, can motivate patients to be evaluated sooner, reducing the number of people an infected person will come into contact with before diagnosis.
Fewer infections and more efficient patient care resulting from telehealth facilitate more rapid and more accurate COVID diagnoses for two principal reasons. First, healthcare providers are less likely to be burned out, overly fatigued, and excessively rushed in their patient consultations. And that means they will be more effective in detecting even the earliest or least expected signs of an incipient COVID infection.
Expanding Caregiver Access
Technology is facilitating coronavirus diagnosis not only through the use of telehealth in making the process safer and more efficient but also through the expansion of healthcare provider access to patients.In many states, for example, Family Nurse Practitioners are trained to give cradle-to-grave care, often offering the kind of care that a family doctor or primary care physician (PNP) would provide. FNPs also tend to specialize in serving at-risk, underserved populations, including rural communities, through both in-person and telehealth platforms. Indeed, in recent years, nurse practitioner education has strongly emphasized telehealth training as an important mechanism for reaching these marginalized patient populations.
Today, in the face of the ongoing pandemic, FNPs can use their telehealth training to evaluate and triage potential COVID patients, ensuring more rapid diagnosis. Through virtual office visits using video conferencing, FNPs can access and evaluate patients who may be infected. Being able to see, hear, and speak with patients in this way helps to ensure that patients receive the care they need, without risking further disease transmission. Additionally, remote monitoring devices, such as at-home pulse oxygen monitors, further increase healthcare providers’ potential to detect a COVID infection.
At-Home Testing
To be sure, as important as telehealth may be in supporting patient diagnosis and triage, it is by no means a panacea. Telehealth enables patients to consult with healthcare providers on-demand and without breaking quarantine.At best, remote medical exams can only allow healthcare providers to screen prospective COVID patients and to refer those with clinically significant symptoms or risk factors to treatment centers for in-person testing and further care. This is an important step in using technology to diagnose the disease, but it is not a sufficient one.
For that reason, medical technology enterprises have been committed to the development of accurate, affordable, and easy-to-use at-home tests. Though the results of these endeavors have thus far been mixed, new diagnostic technologies continue to emerge. Among the most promising is a rapid, at-home test which is used in conjunction with patients’ smartphones to ensure accurate results by reducing user error.
Technologists anticipate that such devices will not only provide fast, cost-efficient, and reliable self-tests for COVID-19, but also future disease outbreaks. If the current pandemic has taught us anything, after all, it is how small and interconnected our world is. In an increasingly mobile world, where fast, international travel makes geographic distance meaningless, the likelihood of further pandemics of infectious viral diseases is high. Early diagnosis, as we have learned all too well in the last 18 months, is key to minimizing the spread.