Under Telehealth Program, patients with pneumonia, including those with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Covid-19 but improving, can now leave the hospital early with continuous monitoring of their vitals and symptoms. Telehealth helps them recover while at home.
Please keep reading to know how Telehealth enables pneumonia patients to communicate with their healthcare team via text messaging, mobile health apps, video conferencing, email, etc.
Telehealth use During Covid-19
The Telehealth concept isn’t new! This remote patient monitoring program gained momentum in response to Covid-19 and the capacity crisis exacerbated during the pandemic. Telehealth enables healthcare professionals to decide the order of treating patients and offer advice. In addition, Telehealth enables healthcare providers to utilize home patient monitoring systems to check blood pressure, oxygen levels, heart rate, etc.
When to Use Telehealth for Pneumonia
Pneumonia can be a severe condition meaning that Telehealth might not always be the best choice. But you can use Telehealth for pneumonia under the following conditions;
- You are unsure if you have pneumonia, flu, Covid-19, or a cold and want to seek medical advice.
- You are only experiencing very mild symptoms without any breathing difficulties.
- Your medical team has given the Telehealth go-ahead after diagnosing you with pneumonia.
- You have a general question about your pneumonia condition or medication that’s not urgent.
Telehealth Benefits and Challenges
Telehealth addresses most mild respiratory symptoms that don’t require a trip to the doctor’s office. This remote digital health also allows the healthcare provider to ask relevant questions to help them make decisions.
However, sometimes your medical team might require sending you for a chest X-ray or examining you themselves. Such examinations have to be in person, posing a challenge to Telehealth for Pneumonia. Additionally, your Telehealth access largely depends on your insurance coverage and location.
Preparing for What Will Happen During a Telehealth Visit
For your clinician to explain the need for in-person tests or not, if medication prescription is necessary, following up on your pneumonia test appointments/results, etc., they will need to ask you lots of questions during the Telehealth visit. Therefore, it’s helpful to know;
- Which type of healthcare professional will you have for your Telehealth appointment?
- Will it be over audio-only or video?
- Testing the audio or video call platform before the actual Telehealth appointment.
- The information your medical team is likely to ask you.
Final Word
Telehealth could be a feasible option for speaking to your physician if you are experiencing mild respiratory symptoms and regular monitoring.