Tag Archives: covid19

The coronavirus pandemic has changed the world’s outlook on telehealth, telemedicine, and virtual health care. According to the American Hospital Association, telehealth visits have increased by 38% of their pre-COVID levels.

While these levels are at an all-time high, there is still growth expected as virtual health visits take the place of in-person care. Research shows that more than half of US hospitals began using telemedicine to respond to quarantine and mandatory lockdown during the pandemic.

Healthcare providers say conditions that benefit from telehealth monitoring include chronic physical and mental health conditions like anxiety, depression, and neurological disorders.

How Telehealth Visits Work

Telehealth visits are like in-person clinical visits, with one significant difference, instead of meeting in person. Doctors and patients connect via a virtual video chat room and talk to each other face-to-face. Patients link to a doctor using telehealth platforms such as Ourdoctor, during telehealth visits using an internet-connected device.

New Technology Investments in Telehealth

Hospitals and health care providers worldwide are looking at updating patient portals to make it easier for doctors and patients to connect. Telehealth visits are available on smartphones, desktops, laptops, and tablets.

Self-Service Health Care Options

Patients who can connect to their providers via video visit are less likely to miss their appointments due to time constraints or traffic issues. Using self-service health care options saves providers and patients time and money on travel time and potentially lost visits.

Remote Patient Monitoring

Significant investments are also made in remote patient monitoring software and technology. Some forward-thinking hospitals, doctor’s offices, and clinics can monitor patient vital signs like heart rate, blood pressure, and blood sugar levels via connected sensors.

Healthcare App Development

Significant investments are happening in customized platforms such as Ourdoctor telehealth services, which are developing as doctors, hospitals, and other medical professionals realize telemedicine’s value.

Successful pregnancy needs like 10-15 doctors’ visitors, but this number is reduced by a half by using the virtual care for expectant parents.

Telehealth incorporates of a wide range of services such as

• virtual visits

• remote patient monitoring

These services capture data recorded on mobile devices

Putting Families First With Virtual Care

The joy and wish of any mother is to bring a full term baby into the world, but in cases of premature births, a baby may experience feeding difficulties. Since the body needs nutrients to grow, they are fitted with a nasogastric (NG) tube that helps them take in nutrients as they are bottle-fed around-the-clock to ultimately move them off the tube. However, there are suggestions by researchers that a baby recovers better and quicker while with the parents.

Prenatal Care Goes Virtual With Telehealth

Prenatal telehealth programs have similar structures that involve take home equipment such as blood pressure cuffs and the fetal heart heart rate monitors together with a secure portal.
During virtual visits, patients send heart rate, fetal heart rate, blood pressure and weight, which nurses record and send informative through the portals.

Moreover, pregnant patients had increased due to the pandemic hence the use of remote monitoring. Most pregnant patients used the Mayo Clinic’s patient portal for visits, which was later followed by secure clinical virtual visits over zoom. The program increased over 10x during the pandemic but since the easing of Covid-19 rules, patients now find it easier to visit a clinician. To learn more about telehealth services visit Ourdoctor.com

During the onset of the global Covid-19 pandemic, most world economies shut down. With total lockdowns in place and people staying under quarantine in homes, telehealth gained immense popularity as a means of accessing medical care. It allowed people to see a doctor without having to leave home. Telehealth also brought convenience, allowing people to access healthcare remotely without incurring costly transportation costs to the hospitals.

As much as telehealth is convenient, fast, and a readily available means of securing health care services, the amount of money that medical centers charge has raised eyebrows and many questions among patients. Concerns about the unexpected bills to cover appointments and follow-ups out-of-pocket (even if you have insurance) have been on the rise. The big question is, why is telehealth becoming expensive by the day?

The Happenings

Most insurance companies are rolling back on the covers they provided patients when the pandemic was at its peak. With current uncertainties, insurance providers keep on changing policies, even doing away with some coverage altogether. As a move to cover their interests, medical care providers have to charge extra (regardless of insurance status) as they aren’t sure of reimbursements from insurance carriers.

Most hospitals are also billing the cost of the virtual appointment and teleconferencing, which is typically not part of the insurance coverage. Generally, the high price of telehealth appointments may result from:

• The time the doctor takes to complete an assignment, with longer works attracting a higher charge
• The complexity of the case, where complex issues may need extra attention and consequently, more charges
• The amount of data the doctor reviews, in which a high workload could mean more time explaining the results and more money to pay

Mitigating the High Telehealth Costs

While the high bills may be unavoidable, you can quickly get ahead of the problem by figuring out what services your insurance provider is willing to cover and whether your preferred medical provider accepts insurance coverage for the same services. Check whether your insurance carrier is willing to pay for your virtual visits and all the resulting costs. With this information, you can easily align your visit with a medical center that fully accepts your insurance coverage, and you’ll avoid the extra bills.

The Solution

If you don’t have insurance, or you do, and the cost of telemedicine is so high, the benefits aren’t worth it. Ourdoctor telehealth is an excellent option for those who don’t or do have insurance. You Can have access to telehealth for an affordable price 24/7. To learn more about Ourdoctor telehealth services, visit Ourdoctor.com

Covid-19 has profoundly changed our lives. The thought that the person next to you can potentially affect you has exponentially increased everyone’s anxiety, thus affecting how people work and interact with each other. This has, however, become a severe challenge when it comes to persons experiencing homelessness. —who basically can’t survive without sharing some facilities such as bathing and ablutions.

Because of their increased risk of contracting and spreading the virus, local officials, health care providers, and other service providers have prioritized their care. For impactful and efficient care to this vulnerable group, health care experts have opted to leverage the power of technology. They are now using Telemedicine in providing much-needed help to homeless people.

Telemedicine is currently playing a significant role in providing patients with a convenient and cheap method of consulting clinicians. One most basic form of Telemedicine is telephone communication. This approach has made it easy to deliver much-needed quality health care to vulnerable patients virtually. Telemedicine is a more advanced form of video conferencing, which allows for real-time encounters and viewing of images and patient documents simultaneously.

Years ago, Telemedicine could not be practical for the homeless. However, things have changed, and technology is now accessible to almost everyone. Through the help of various organizations, Telemedicine has made it easier for the homeless to receive better health care. In a partnership announced last year, veterans dealing with homelessness were given the privilege of consulting with caseworkers through telehealth kiosks.

Generally, the homeless community has always had it rough accessing health care services, particularly specialty care such as otolaryngology. Here’s what a Chicago-based otolaryngologist had to say.

“I worked as an otolaryngologist at the Chicago Franciscan Outreach shelter for three years. Unfortunately, we only made it there a few days a month to help patients with tonsillitis, sinusitis, hearing loss, ear infections, and thyroid disorders. As such, our impact was limited. The onset of Covid-19 further paralyzed our services, forcing us to prioritize routine screenings.

To help solve the health care crisis within the homeless community, we have decided to partner with Rush University Medical Center and local homeless advocates to launch a virtual care program. Our primary focus is to provide otolaryngology care. The lost will have their ear, nose, and throat issues virtually addressed by a physician from a kiosk. Once in a while, they will get the opportunity for an in-person visit.

From my experience working with underserved communities, the best way to serve the homeless is to bring care to their doorstep. Besides making it easily accessible, it goes a long way in helping them save on the little money they have.

Combining Telemedicine and in-person visits are not limited to only delivering otolaryngology care. The same can be applied to other specialties in medicine across the United States to improve access to health care, cut down the costs involved, reduce the time wasted in delivering services face to face, and effectively care for the people struggling with homelessness.”

The pandemic has created a society of video chats for the main source of communication, and some workers in the mental health industry are certain this culture is here to stay. Due to hospitals only being able to accept emergency cases, close to 100% of mental health care became remote during the height of the pandemic, according to the director of ambulatory services at Ohio State Harding Hospital.

What this means for the future is that patients will be able to decide whether they would prefer in-patient consults or to receive them via telehealth. With the technology available today, patients have experienced the same level of care that they would have received as an in-patient.

Even the previous intensive outpatient program, a strict three to the four-week program at Ohio State Harding Hospital, now gets held over Zoom. Potentially there could even be a future for telemedicine due to the massive success of telehealth in the last year.

When the pandemic started, patients were wary of using telehealth services for physical conditions, and most telehealth patients made use of the services. This was illustrated in a recent study from mid-March to early May 2020 published by RAND Corp, where 53.6% opted for treatment via telehealth compared to the 43.2% of patients with a physical condition using telehealth during that same timespan.

Telehealth services have also increased the rates of patients keeping their appointments as they are easier to attend due to the flexibility of attending the meetings, however like all things, there are a couple of downfalls to the program as not all age groups fall into the demographic of being able to use Video Chats and body language has also been raised as a concern when consulting over a call instead of in person. Reliable internet and having the privacy to talk openly are also issues raised when needing to use telehealth services instead of an in-person consultation.

As the world slowly starts to go back to normal and in-patient consultations have started up again, telehealth services have proven to be a crucial and needed solution for the future. Most medical institutes will offer a range of both to allow the patient to choose what suits them best.

In a recent study, Royal Phillips, a global leader in health technology, found out that more people experienced sleep challenges during the outbreak of COVID-19. A whopping 58% of the study respondents expressed a willingness to seek help for their sleep concerns from a specialist through telehealth services even though they hadn’t tried it yet.

The survey indicated that there was broader interest in seeking virtual care spurred by the virus outbreak. At least a third of the consumers had accessed telehealth appointments and with over half admitting it was their first.

Lee Chiong Teofilo spoke of the availability of tools needed to offer telehealth efficiently and the rising interest from consumers to access it. However, a significant percentage of consumers expressed that they expected it to be challenging to find a sleep specialist through a telephone-based or online program.

55% of participants of the study were content with their sleeping patterns. Only 40% of the United States respondents were a bit satisfied with their sleep patterns. At the same time, those from India reported the highest number of somewhat happy respondents with their sleep patterns. Japan had the lowest number of respondents who were content with their sleep.

In the market, sleep concerns have led to the development of tools geared towards improving sleep health. Some of these tools include behavioral therapy software and wearable trackers.

In a nutshell, when appropriately used, sleep telehealth can empower patients to make better decisions, provide equitable health care, improve the quality of care and improve health outcomes.

Adapting to COVID-19 has become a necessity in the wake of its long-standing and far-reaching effects. Telehealth has been widely adopted in the health sector to cope with the ‘stay at home’ restrictions. Dermatologists have had to conform to technology to treat patients from the comfort of their homes.

Some of the benefits dermatologists have experienced from using telehealth include:

• Virtual appointments offer flexibility.

Most patients are thrilled to enjoy the benefits of a consultation from the comfort of their homes. It is easier for a dermatologist to see and analyze the medication’s usefulness and effectiveness as opposed to a regular consultation where patients are likely to forget it at home.

• Virtual appointments promote comfort and confidence.

Patients are comfortable interacting with a dermatologist from their place of comfort.

Patients tend to open up more and better account medical history when they are comfortable. There is arguably no better place to feel more comfortable than your own home.

How are dermatologists carrying out a virtual appointment?

Setting an appointment.

A telemedicine appointment may take three forms:

• A telephone call
• A video conference
• Sending information to your dermatologist with details about your medical history, records, and the like.

Preparing for a virtual appointment

The dermatologist first ensures the patient’s insurance covers telemedicine visits. Patients are advised to confirm their home internet is stable and working. Devices that may be used during the consultation, such as computers and phones, should also be functioning correctly. It is essential to write a list of all the medications you have been using and have a photo if the camera quality isn’t excellent. The image can be later emailed to the dermatologist. To collect as much information as possible, it is essential to have a journal where you record a daily account of the disease’s effects to share with your dermatologist.

Examination during the telemedicine appointment

A nurse or dermatologist will inquire about the patient’s history, symptoms, medication, and how they are feeling. The dermatologist later goes into details about these questions to assess the situation. The patient may need to show the dermatologist the affected areas. Therefore, it is essential to wear something you can quickly disrobe.

Treating the ailment

After evaluating the symptoms and seeing the affected area, the dermatologist offers a diagnosis and a viable treatment option. This may include treatment or recommendations for asymptomatic conditions that affect the patient’s quality of life and comfort.

Your skin is an essential part of your overall health. Contact a certified dermatologist today to get a handle on your well-being. Ensure your insurance covers telemedicine appointments before consulting a dermatologist.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and its resulting restrictions, many have changed how we navigate and receive goods and services. The health sector has been dramatically affected and influenced by the pandemic with the adoption of technological improvements that have allowed many to access healthcare from the comfort of their homes.

Below are some of the ways the pandemic has aided technological developments in the health sector:

Telehealth

It is a broad spectrum of health products and services and devices that utilize remote communication to collect and spread data related to health matters. This includes using a monitor to participate in medical seminars, collect medical data and issue prescriptions.

Telemedicine

On the other hand, telemedicine is a more direct means of communication between a medical professional and a patient through audio or video. It may involve sending data from a home medical sensor to a clinician who virtually explains what the data means and offers recommendations.

Health devices

With the stay at home’ recommendation issued, consumers needed the means to monitor some of their bodily functions, such as blood pressure and heart activity, to stay healthy. As a result, health devices were improved and developed to carry out such operations.

Some of these health devices include:

• Smartwatches that can read blood pressure
• Touchless digital thermometers
• Personal EKG devices 
• Pulse oximeter

However, when utilizing health devices, it is essential to remember that the readings differ in accuracy and repeatability with medical-grade devices. The term ‘FDA cleared’ plastered on the product implies that the FDA has gone over the manufacturer’s data backing up the product’s functionalities. It doesn’t mean they tested or looked at the outcome.

It is always advisable to take your health device to a physical clinician and compare readings with a medical-grade device to understand the discrepancies in readings and even tweak it to have better lessons.

The fantastic ability of technology to keep up with the pandemic’s effects has helped us successfully manage our health and understand our bodies better, thereby increasing the overall lifespan duration.

It always takes time for new technology to be appreciated because it can be challenging for people to give up their preconceived notions of how something should be to see the potential of what something can be. Telemedicine falls into this category. While telemedicine technology has existed for quite some time, no one was willing to adopt it until the Covid-19 pandemic hit, and suddenly the idea of a telehealth visit was appealing. Far past being just convenient, telemedicine can change the way we view and experience healthcare and is likely to be here to stay at this point.

One big way telemedicine will change the world of medicine is within the specialty field. Most people first visit their primary care physician (who you may have to wait to see) and then get referred out to a specialist who requires their wait. At this point, you will have paid for two visits and waited up to a month, if not more. You can cut out the wait and the extra weight in a world where a primary care doctor can instantly connect you to a specialist who can make a diagnosis on the spot. Sure, in some specialties like cardiology, this will not work for, but telemedicine can be a valuable tool in fields like dermatology.

Also, telemedicine makes it possible to get above the standard of care without leaving your home. Anyone who suffers from a rare or unusual health concern knows that to get the best doctors, you have to be willing to travel, which means many people don’t get the best care. However, in the world of telemedicine, you (or your doctor) can quickly consult with noted specialists in a field or diagnosis and deliver you a much better standard of care. Changes like these are going to make telemedicine the new gold standard, not a temporary convenience.