Telehealth Solutions Help Ensure Quality Care - Even in Long-Term Care
The COVID-19 outbreak was the catalyst for perhaps one of the most significant changes in healthcare history, significantly boosting the adoption and advantages of telehealth. Before early 2020, telehealth was not widely accepted. Telehealth was mainly used for patients in remote areas with limited access to healthcare providers or those who had to travel long distances for treatment.
Telehealth has now become an integral part of healthcare, offering numerous benefits for long-term care both at home and in facilities. For aging grandparents and other older adults, telehealth provides convenient access to medical consultations, follow-up appointments, and routine check-ups without the need to leave their homes. This technology is particularly valuable for those with mobility issues or chronic conditions that make travel difficult.
Connecting to Medical Specialists
Telehealth enables staff to quickly and efficiently connect residents with specialists and primary care physicians in long-term care facilities. This can lead to faster diagnosis and treatment of health issues, improving overall care and reducing the need for hospital transfers. Additionally, telehealth can facilitate mental health support, offering therapy and counseling sessions that might otherwise be inaccessible.
The use of telehealth has proven to be a game-changer in managing the healthcare needs of older adults, ensuring they receive timely and consistent care while reducing the strain on family caregivers and healthcare providers alike. As telehealth evolves, its role in long-term care is expected to grow, providing even greater support and flexibility for patients and their families.
Telehealth Solutions is a good example of telehealth technology. It is a full-featured platform for managing health practices, including scheduling, forms, telehealth, and remote patient monitoring. It is completely GDPR—and HIPAA-compliant.
Beyond the seeming advantage of avoiding risky face-to-face appointments, how can telehealth enhance patient care? There are several advantages of telehealth, and one of them is accessibility.
Telehealth: Transforming Healthcare Access and Care Delivery
Healthcare providers can significantly enhance patient access to treatment and serve a larger patient base by offering virtual visits. This flexibility allows patients to schedule medical consultations more conveniently.
Telehealth solutions help underprivileged communities overcome healthcare inequities by providing essential care to patients in rural areas who face obstacles like long travel times and a lack of specialists. Practices can use telemedicine to ensure these patients receive necessary care services.
Telemedicine benefits elderly patients significantly. It allows older adults to receive care from the comfort of their homes, reducing the risk of exposure to COVID-19 and other illnesses, which is especially important for those with mobility issues.
Telehealth is a vital component of remote care management programs for chronic diseases for long-term care, both at home and in facilities. It improves patient engagement and health outcomes by facilitating regular monitoring and timely interventions.
Efficiency Leads to Quality Care
Telehealth also enhances healthcare providers' efficiency and revenue, allowing them to provide better quality care. Virtual consultations can be scheduled after regular business hours, extending billable time and reducing overhead costs associated with in-person visits.
Telehealth helps reduce no-show rates, particularly for patients with mobility impairments, ensuring they receive the care they need despite potential travel issues. By integrating telehealth, healthcare providers can fill gaps between in-person appointments, maintain continuity of care, and improve overall patient satisfaction.
Moreover, telehealth can improve the management of chronic conditions. According to the CDC, patients with conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and respiratory issues can benefit from regular virtual check-ins, which help in the early detection of potential problems and adjustments in treatment plans. This proactive approach reduces hospital admissions and enhances the quality of life for patients with chronic illnesses.
Telehealth can also lead to better outcomes for a broader range of patients, not just those with chronic illnesses. Incorporating virtual visits into patient engagement strategies encourages active participation in their own care. For instance, patients can fill out paperwork on the patient portal before virtual appointments can familiarize them with the portal, where they can access resources, learning materials, test results, schedule appointments, and more. The AMA says that patient messaging can remind patients of upcoming telemedicine appointments and follow-up visits, ensuring continuity of care, which is especially important for older adults.
The potential of telehealth to improve practice efficiency and revenue is significant. Offering telemedicine sessions after regular business hours can extend billable time and reduce overhead expenses like staffing and examination room costs during these hours. Telehealth also mitigates lost income from no-shows, particularly those resulting from impairments that impact mobility. By preventing gaps in care between visits and ensuring continuity of care, telehealth solutions can optimize practice operations.
While these benefits to providers might seem one-sided, technological advances like telehealth provide the necessary resources to provide quality care services to a wider group of people, no matter where they live, their age, or their health situation. For those needing long-term care, quality care is a major concern for the family.
Telehealth has become a transformative approach to healthcare, enhancing access, improving patient outcomes, and boosting healthcare efficiency. It provides a comprehensive solution that meets the needs of patients and providers alike, ensuring quality care delivery in a rapidly evolving healthcare landscape. For those in long-term care settings, it enables older adults to access quality care more easily and efficiently.