During a worldwide health crisis, virtual care has proven to be a lifesaver. The platform’s rapid expansion could have long-term consequences.
Healthcare providers are using telehealth to protect patients and employees as COVID-19 spreads. According to a poll by the Medical Group Management Association, 97% of healthcare leaders have expanded telehealth access since the pandemic.
Virtual care has been critical for remote screening and treatment of COVID-19 cases, as well as routine visits that would be dangerous or complicated during quarantine.
According to Karen Donelan, a senior scientist at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Mongan Institute, the risk of infection and rising demands on the healthcare system have made telehealth a safe and vital tool.
“Primary care and specialized clinicians are utilizing telehealth to replace office visits in as many cases as feasible,” Donelan explains.
According to a survey conducted by IT vendor Sykes, more than 60% of patients think the pandemic has increased their readiness to adopt telehealth.
According to Uri Bettesh, founder and CEO of Datos Health, a remote care and telemedicine platform, most early deployments employed videoconferencing, but many now use the Internet of Medical Things devices to monitor patients’ vital signs from a distance.
COVID-19 is proving to be a game-changer in the radiology field, with many radiologists now working from home using digital technologies. According to Diagnostic Imaging, such partnerships are becoming more popular to serve rural and international patients.
According to a blog post by Dr. Barry Julius, a physician in nuclear medicine at Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, N.J., recently quoted in Radiology Business, the pandemic could be a wake-up call for urban hospitals and practices that may have been hesitant to allow radiologists to work remotely.
After the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, Julius predicts a “sea change” in the industry, with more widespread teleradiology adoption across practices and hospitals, adding that “the world of radiology will never be quite the same.”
According to McKnight’s Senior Living, telemedicine can improve convenience, care, and disease management, and reduce hospitalization rates for high-risk seniors in senior home facilities.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) temporarily extended telehealth services to all Medicare beneficiaries in mid-March. Telehealth services for office visits, preventive health screenings, and mental health services are now available to persons living in homes and healthcare facilities outside of rural areas, thanks to the expansion.
“Any growth of telehealth services is a really good thing,” said Kari Olson, chief innovation and technology officer at Front Porch, a senior living company. “Especially now, when we need people to stay at home, and especially to protect people over 65 and other high-risk individuals.”
The Reducing Unnecessary Senior Hospitalization Act, a proposed bipartisan measure, would permanently expand telemedicine to cover more Medicare seniors.
Telehealth has helped some medical systems avoid becoming overburdened by reducing the demand for supplies and hospital beds by retaining low-risk patients at home.
It can also assist in the delivery of care. In a roundtable Q&A with HealthTech, Dr. Neal Patel, the organization’s CIO for health IT, said that clinicians can reach hospitalized patients via Zoom and Apple iPad devices “to limit exposure and not use up protective equipment simply for a talk.”
More systems will be benefited: The Federal Communications Commission approved a 200 million telehealth program in early April as part of the 2 trillion coronavirus response bill to assist providers in purchasing telemedicine equipment and devices required to provide telehealth services — a move intended to free up valuable hospital space, according to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai.
The pandemic has compelled experts to enhance telehealth services for vital needs such as cardiovascular care. Telecardiology encompasses
virtual home visits, smartphone-based rehab activities, and nurse-assisted consultations at satellite clinics, among other things.
In an interview with TCTMD, an online news site produced by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation, Dr. Andrew Freeman of National Jewish Health in Denver, a member of the American College of Cardiology’s healthcare innovation board, termed it a “gift in a very ugly disguise.”
Meanwhile, stress and anxiety have spurred a significant surge in online counseling.
Don Mordecai, a physician and the organization’s national leader for mental health and wellness, told STAT that the Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente, which owns nearly 40 facilities, is performing more than 90% of its mental health visits remotely. Under normal conditions, such adoption “would have taken years,” he said.
According to The American Journal of Managed Care, the epidemic has highlighted existing racial, economic, and geographic inequities that might obstruct access to medical treatment. A rapid move to telehealth could help underprivileged individuals with low resources and inadequate connectivity gain access to healthcare.
What is the explanation for this?
The coronavirus response bill’s telehealth program will assist providers in responding to the pandemic by assisting patients in need of telecommunications services and devices to receive linked care at home.
It has the potential to help those towns maintain viable healthcare and clinics without having to go to a primary care facility in another urban area.
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