Tag Archives: coronavirus

Just about anyone who has been to an emergency room knows that care in the ER is anything but urgent. Unless you come in with a life-threatening injury on a stretcher, chances are, you will wait for hours before being seen. This inconvenience is incredibly frustrating for someone dealing with an acute health crisis who require immediate attention. Patient care is often compromised as doctors hurry through patients, and most patients leave unsatisfied with their experience.

A University of Texas researcher decided to take a closer look at the issue by investigating whether or not the use of telemedicine could help solve ER overcrowding. Researcher Dr. Shujing Sun explained that the enormous problem is large patient flow and small ER room capacity. In other words, there is no room in the ER to service the number of people who need to be seen after hours when no other health provider is available.
She explained that the ER’s overcrowding issue is straining the safety net the ER was created to provide, and urgent action needs to be taken to address the issue. To decrease financial costs, increase patient satisfaction, and reduce mortality rates, a better way to handle ER patients needs to be devised.

Along with her colleagues, Dr. Sun looked at how telemedicine could help remedy the overcrowding. While telemedicine has seen a massive surge in adaptation since the pandemic, it has not yet fully been utilized within the field of emergency medicine.

Sun described two significant changes to the way ER telemedicine is presented versus traditional home-based telemedicine. First, patients have to offer when they need the ER. Second, telemedicine allows on-site assistance from various physicians instead of just limited staff within the ER service.

ER visits increased 27% from 2000 to 2015, and the COVID-19 pandemic is expecting to continue to spur further increases. ER telemedicine aims to help increase physician efficiency and facilitate workflow. The study found that ER telemedicine could help rescue wait times and reduce the length of stay by merely reducing ER waiting time.

There has been a surge in the adoption and implementation of telemedicine, especially with the coronavirus pandemic crisis. For this reason, the US Healthcare officials recently converged at the Becker’s Healthcare Telehealth Virtual Forum to address the challenges and opportunities in telehealth and virtual care. The following eight observations were reported.

• Organizations that had invested in telehealth confirmed that they were well equipped for more virtual services even though some of the systems still faced significant setbacks following the increasing demand

• Telemedicine has offered significant support to numerous US health systems, particularly during the pandemic. However, some of the significant challenges affecting them include lack of broadband internet access or video recording devices by patients.

• Telemedicine in the post-pandemic era will depend on factors such as government regulations and demand for such services. It is, however, unclear how it will incorporate into specialty care.

• Hospitals should invest in efficient and straightforward digital workflows for easy virtual operations. Besides, patient information should be readily available in the EHR once they are logged in for a virtual session.

• Artificial Intelligence has not been fully exploited in telemedicine, and there are innumerable possibilities of integrating it into healthcare.

• Consumer and payer demand will define the ultimate business model of telehealth after the pandemic. Patients will be provided with a range of payment options, while payers will have to integrate telehealth into their value-based care models. However, this changeover will pose a significant risk to the many providers still based on a fee-for-service environment.

• Challenges such as government regulations and healthcare systems are bound to affect the future of new virtual care and telehealth services. As such, providers will have to partner with vendors to ensure that the new implementations serve the patient population equally.

• Coronavirus has disrupted the training system for clinicians and patients on telehealth. However, healthcare systems need to advance their approaches and counter the massive demand for telehealth services in a limited time frame. Leaders proposed developing training materials in chapters that can be easily uploaded as platforms are subject to change. 

With all these factors in mind, telemedicine will evolve because of virtual healthcare demand to continue to keep people safe. 

Of all the perks healthcare providers can get from medicine, saving time and money by serving patients on time is vital. Thanks to this platform, patients do not need to drive long distances to see their doctors. All they need is an internet-supported platform to enjoy healthcare services from the comfort of their homes.

Due to the increase in infections resulting from COVID-19, telemedicine could be the only thing that can amelioratedoctor-patient interactions. The need to reduce infections as a result of physical interactions in healthcare institutions is essential. As more people embrace the idea of virtually consulting with their doctors, containing the virus and other infections will be easy. With time, both the patients and providers can take advantage of all the resources needed to save time and money.

Until recently, doctors had no way of billing patients for the services they provided using telemedicine. But since more patients are coming out to seek telehealth services, the medical sector is looking to find ways of ensuring they get the patient-focused care they need.

In the past, healthcare providers only relied on telemedicine to diagnose patients with spine conditions. Patients were required to provide their details through the web forms of calling their doctors directly to request a review of their spine MRI. They could receive their results via phone or email. Once their spine diagnosis was confirmed, they were required to make physical visits to the nearest spine care institution for treatment.

The success of telemedicine can only depend on two factors, as summarized below:

1. Virtual healthcare platform for doctors to connect with patients, Ourdoctor telemedicine service.
2. Healthcare services need to comply with HIPAA regulations that allow them to know the patient’s medical history. This is in order to make an accurate diagnosis and develop the best intervention to resolve their medical issues. 

With these two factors working in tandem, telemecidine can be successful in taking care of virtual diagnosing of patients virtually. 

Since Covid-19 began its spread across the nation, the healthcare industry has scrambled to set up comprehensive telehealth services across the country. Psychiatric centers, therapists, counselors, and more have begun moving their appointments to an entirely virtual space. While this allows for safer meetings between patients and medical professionals, is it something to which all Americans have equal access?

The short answer to this question is no. While many Americans have gained access to technology like smartphones and the like in recent years, there is still a sizable portion of the population (roughly 30% of families earning below $30K/year) that can’t afford them. The number is even higher when it comes to owning a traditional computer (46%) and having access to a broadband internet connection (44%). Additionally, most working-class American families are not tablet owners.

Socioeconomic disparity like this plays a large role in access to virtual care. As medical professionals move into online spaces, they are effectively cutting low-income Americans out–and that’s not all. The elderly are overwhelmingly at a disadvantage when we’re discussing telehealth – over 77% of geriatric patients struggle with virtual care due to a combination of cognitive decline, hearing/visual disabilities, and anxiety.

Another group affected negatively by this telehealth transition are those Americans with language deficiency issues, including those with speech impairments and the lessened ability to speak or understand English. While video conferencing applications like Zoom do offer additional language tools to aid such patients, the fact is that the combination of virtual appointments and difficult language used in healthcare settings has drastically lowered meeting attendance rates for members of this population.

With so many populace members negatively affected by the switch into telehealth, the recommended course of action is as follows. First, audio-only appointments need to happen more often and in conjunction with video-conferencing software to guide patients who have problems using technology more fully. Healthcare providers also need to address the lack of information and educational content available to patients who have difficulty speaking and understanding English.

Telemedicine companies such as Ourdoctor, have had a positive impact and have narrowed the negatives that can come with using telemdicine. Ourdoctor is very easy to use. One of the biggest benefits of signing up for Ourdoctor telehealth services is that you do not have to have insurance. Visit Ourdoctor.com to learn more.

Top Reasons Why Telemedicine Isn’t Going Anywhere

Over the past months, COVID-19 has impacted telehealth and the entire medical field. Telehealth is not a new concept. Telehealth has been around since 1879, and in 1925, diagnosing patients by telephone had become more popular within the realm of medicine. Yet, there are multiple questions gaining traction recently. A couple of them are, “will telehealth evolve into a more modern system?” The second question being Is telehealth here to stay indefinitely?”

Telehealth Improvements

The fact that technology improves over time is indubitable. When looking at the innovations that have taken place recently, we can see that one of the determinantes that influence telemedicine is technology. This impact (and as the general field of technology, biotechnology, and science) will help telemedicine evolve and stay for the long term into the distant future. For doctors and nurse practitioners to be the most effective, telemedicine is primary healthcare now. IT is a fundamental tool for healthcare during this pandemic and has changed the way people commonly see healthcare.

Access to Healthcare

Access to healthcare is a fundamental concept that should make health equity streamlined and work for all people. To be specific, people that live in an urban setting should have access to healthcare without being unnecessarily exposed to COVID-19 while waiting to see a medical practitioner.

 For individuals and families that live in rural settings. Additionally, telemedicine will make healthcare available for anyone living in a rural area. A doctor’s visit can is simply, a consultation away via Smartphone or computer when telemedicine becomes primary healthcare.

Can’t afford Insurance

In the event that an individual cannot afford health insurance or Medicare, Telemedicine is an affordable option since patients can purchase individual visits using Ourdoctor telemedicine services. There are also family plan options for those who have family members that need to see a doctor. Telemedicine is a great option for all, as its affordability and convenience is the future of medicine. 

Artificial Intelligence in healthcare is no longer restricted to research labs alone. It has also improved many telemedicine aspects revolving around broadband technology and electronic data to assist and coordinate remote healthcare services. AI takes over the whole chain of clinical practice and patient-focused care by providing models of care and sustenance. AI can be benefical in the following ways.

Analyzing medical records and other data

One of the healthcare’s primary goals is to collect and analyze data, including medical records and history. AI conducts data management and digital automation to provide more reliable access.

Automation of manual, repetitive tasks

The cardiology and radiology departments rely on AI to analyze tests, conduct x-rays, CT scans and carry out other tasks. In the future, both departments will only focus on handling emergency and complicated cases where manual tasks need supervision.

Electronic consultation

Healthcare providers can diagnose, treat, and monitor their patient’s progress without making physical visits. The initiative relies on machine learning to provide support for patients with chronic conditions. Various apps containing necessary health information and medical advice will help parents living with sick children and other people looking out for their loved ones’ well-being.

Medicine management

 Through a smartphone’s webcam, physicians can verify whether they are taking their medications and assist them in monitoring their progress. People with complicated medical conditions, defiant patients that go against their doctor’s advice, and clinicians participating in trials are the primary beneficiaries of the AI autonomous service.

AI-led Telemedicine can revolutionize Telehealth applications.

 patients scheduling in person visits at a clinic is a chore of the past to find help to their problems. By creating automation, AI can transform healthcare and help handle some of the applications set out above. By looking at the multitude of tasks that AI can complete through the realm of telemedicine it is without a doubt that AI is not only innovative in medicine, but will soon become a requirement as our society is evolving.