Liza Dzhezhora, Healthcare IT Analyst at Itransition11.29.22
Telemedicine has started flourishing during the pandemic. It offered the chance to consult a doctor without any health risks. Today, while the pandemic has subsided, people are asking, is telemedicine still needed?
According to Jones Lang LaSalle, 76% of people using telemedicine would like to continue receiving remote care. This shows us that custom telemedicine software solutions are still relevant. Can they help solve some of the poignant industry issues? Let's find it out.
So how can telemedicine break the barriers? Telemedicine offers accessible quality care for patients at a more affordable price. That is exactly what patients strained with disparities need. But how to make it work? Let's consider some significant use cases:
The other disadvantaged demographic group is children and teenagers. With telemedicine consultations available, these people can connect to a session from their homes. If they lack privacy at home, they can go to an e-consultation from a specially assigned private environment at school, a community center, or a church. Those mental care options allow adolescents and children to share their concerns with therapists without fear of eavesdropping.
Moreover, telemedicine has yet another benefit. It is not always about video consultations, which can be challenging in rural environments. Patients can get consultations via a landline phone or a mobile. This option enables people living in rural locations to get professional medical consultations regardless of connectivity issues.
Telemedicine is a viable solution for post-surgery care. A patient can connect from the comfort of their own home. With post-surgery telemedicine programs available, the rate of no-shows reduced by 79%, the American College of Surgery reports.
But is the quality of online consultations equal to that of offline visits? To answer this question, researchers examined the efficacy of that model in cancer surgery. According to their findings, the typical post-surgery follow-up risks (readmissions) remained the same for the two follow-up models. Hence, the quality of care provided in postoperative telemedicine fully corresponds to face-to-face visits.
In the Survey of US Adults 2021, Pew Research reports people over 65 actively use social media. About 44% have a tablet, and over 75% use the Internet. The data proves that older persons could potentially benefit from telemedicine.
At the same time, telemedicine for that group of patients needs some adaptation. You need to:
Some nursing homes also deployed telemedicine solutions for their patients. Telemedicine allows residents to get a medical consultation right from their rooms. For paralyzed residents or those recovering from fractures, remote medical help could become a life-changing experience.
For rural dwellers, a visit may take even more time. In such cases, telemedicine works like a life vest, as patients can get qualified care from anywhere.
The expanded availability of telemedicine is relevant not only for disabled patients. Children with yet undiagnosed genetic disorders and their parents also benefit from this feature. They can have many appointments per week and consult with doctors from other countries. By connecting to a doctor from home, they save time and avoid stress.
Still, is diagnosing via a telemedicine app reliable? Specialists from Children's National Hospital (Washington, DC) found out that diagnosing via telemedicine is not inferior to in-person visits. As doctors explain, the diagnosing process is the same. However, doctors can arrange an offline visit if a patient needs a detailed physical examination.
Liza Dzhezhora is a healthcare IT analyst at Itransition, a custom software development company headquartered in Denver, CO. She looks into the ways IT technologies can streamline healthcare processes and explores how medical IoT, AI, robotics and healthcare analytics help solve industry challenges.
According to Jones Lang LaSalle, 76% of people using telemedicine would like to continue receiving remote care. This shows us that custom telemedicine software solutions are still relevant. Can they help solve some of the poignant industry issues? Let's find it out.
Promoting Health Equity
Health equity means ensuring that everyone has the chance to be as healthy as possible. Unfortunately, ensuring health equity has become a challenge due to various disparities and barriers that prevent people from getting the necessary healthcare services. Predictably, the issue is consonant with socioeconomic disparities.So how can telemedicine break the barriers? Telemedicine offers accessible quality care for patients at a more affordable price. That is exactly what patients strained with disparities need. But how to make it work? Let's consider some significant use cases:
1. Telemental Care Options
Though the debates about the efficacy of telemental health in comparison with in-person consultation are still on, mental care via telemedicine has a significant benefit. It bridges the care gap to care for underserved patients – rural dwellers, ethnic minorities, and formerly incarcerated people. People representing those demographic categories often have low incomes and face transportation disparity. As a result, they defer their health until the damage is hardly reversible.The other disadvantaged demographic group is children and teenagers. With telemedicine consultations available, these people can connect to a session from their homes. If they lack privacy at home, they can go to an e-consultation from a specially assigned private environment at school, a community center, or a church. Those mental care options allow adolescents and children to share their concerns with therapists without fear of eavesdropping.
Moreover, telemedicine has yet another benefit. It is not always about video consultations, which can be challenging in rural environments. Patients can get consultations via a landline phone or a mobile. This option enables people living in rural locations to get professional medical consultations regardless of connectivity issues.
2. Postoperative Care
After the surgery, patients have to go to follow-ups for some time to monitor recovery. However, that may be difficult: such patients may have restricted mobility or no access to transportation. No wonder those follow-ups have a substantial rate of no-shows.Telemedicine is a viable solution for post-surgery care. A patient can connect from the comfort of their own home. With post-surgery telemedicine programs available, the rate of no-shows reduced by 79%, the American College of Surgery reports.
But is the quality of online consultations equal to that of offline visits? To answer this question, researchers examined the efficacy of that model in cancer surgery. According to their findings, the typical post-surgery follow-up risks (readmissions) remained the same for the two follow-up models. Hence, the quality of care provided in postoperative telemedicine fully corresponds to face-to-face visits.
3. Improved Care for the Elderly
Senior people have even more problems. Just like postoperative care patients, they may have difficulties with their musculoskeletal system functions. Besides, they may have cognitive changes associated with aging or certain disorders. However, it does not mean people aged 65 and above live in a technology vacuum.In the Survey of US Adults 2021, Pew Research reports people over 65 actively use social media. About 44% have a tablet, and over 75% use the Internet. The data proves that older persons could potentially benefit from telemedicine.
At the same time, telemedicine for that group of patients needs some adaptation. You need to:
- Call the patient by phone or mobile before the consultation to test your telemedicine solution.
- Provide your older patients with written instructions for telemedicine use. Mind the large font, simple terms, and informative screenshots.
- Provide a consultation summary covering the key goals and exercises to complete and their benefits for the patient.
Some nursing homes also deployed telemedicine solutions for their patients. Telemedicine allows residents to get a medical consultation right from their rooms. For paralyzed residents or those recovering from fractures, remote medical help could become a life-changing experience.
4. Advanced Options for Condition Patients
During the pandemic, we observed a massive upsurge in telemedicine use, which benefited disabled chronic condition patients. Telehealth tools enabled those patients to visit their doctors without health risks or additional stress. Still, is a personal visit to the doctor’s office a big challenge? Researchers from the Journal of Managed Care discovered that the average time a patient spends visiting a clinic was 100 minutes:- 37 minutes for traveling to the facility
- 64 minutes of waiting inside
- 20 minutes for the appointment
For rural dwellers, a visit may take even more time. In such cases, telemedicine works like a life vest, as patients can get qualified care from anywhere.
The expanded availability of telemedicine is relevant not only for disabled patients. Children with yet undiagnosed genetic disorders and their parents also benefit from this feature. They can have many appointments per week and consult with doctors from other countries. By connecting to a doctor from home, they save time and avoid stress.
Still, is diagnosing via a telemedicine app reliable? Specialists from Children's National Hospital (Washington, DC) found out that diagnosing via telemedicine is not inferior to in-person visits. As doctors explain, the diagnosing process is the same. However, doctors can arrange an offline visit if a patient needs a detailed physical examination.
Conclusion
Custom telemedicine software solutions help solve some healthcare industry challenges, such as addressing social and economic disparities that hamper health equity. Telemedicine can help providers ensure home care for patients with mental health issues and diverse chronic conditions. It also lets patients recover after surgeries from home. Telehealth solutions spare the elderly the need to travel to hospitals for due care. They help ensure top-quality care to paralyzed or traumatized residents in nursing homes. All that proves that telemedicine tools have established themselves in earnest for a long time. With telemedicine in the game, providers can give patients high-quality home-based meeting their needs.Liza Dzhezhora is a healthcare IT analyst at Itransition, a custom software development company headquartered in Denver, CO. She looks into the ways IT technologies can streamline healthcare processes and explores how medical IoT, AI, robotics and healthcare analytics help solve industry challenges.