Although telemedicine is not a new concept, emerging technologies have helped change the way it is used. Based on the HealthLeaders article written by Scott Mace, “The Reality of Virtual Care,” virtual care is poised to change the healthcare system dramatically.

Inefficiencies and the need for balancing workload and workflow, while caring for patients across great distances, has helped propel the advancement in new software and hardware including the recent explosion of wearables.

Reducing costs is a critical goal for many health systems supporting the use of virtual care. HealthLeaders cites that virtual care at certain organizations was able to reduce sepsis costs by $2,800 per case and decreased the length of patients’ stay by two days. These savings were due to the fact that, through telemedicine, early sepsis detection was possible.

Other benefits to using virtual care/telemedicine include:

  • Reducing false alarms in patient monitors
  • Increased response time
  • Reduced length of stay in hospitals
  • Easier access to medical care

Telepharmacy is another area that is growing in the virtual care industry. Telepharmacy provides 24/7 access to a pharmacist to help determine dosage interactions and if a medication should be administered orally or intravenously.

To address the increase of newly insured patients, pilot kiosks are being introduced in public spaces.  The kiosks allow patients to make appointments online, and when they arrive for the visit, check in electronically and go straight into their appointment.

Providing better quality patient care is at the forefront of healthcare discussions. Using telemedicine responsibly will prove to be cost effective and will go a long way to ensuring costs are well managed and a high quality of care is provided to all patients.

Does your organization use telemedicine? Do you find the implementation of telemedicine beneficial for patient care?

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