Healthcare workers and medical practices could see major improvements in how they treat patients by exploring telehealth. With telehealth, patients do not see the doctor in-person. They speak to the doctor via a phone call or video-based conferencing. Virtual appointments are more convenient for patients and doctors, and they can present major health benefits for all parties.
Telehealth is a beneficial service that could decrease the total cost of healthcare and mitigating serious risks for hospitals, staff, and patients. In a state of emergency, healthcare professionals need to find a better solution that protects doctors and patients. Telehealth could be the answer that the healthcare industry has been waiting for.
Mitigating Exposure to COVID-19
With the recent global pandemic, telehealth has grown in popularity, and it has shown the healthcare industry that telehealth is a better way to mitigate the risk of exposure to COVID-19. The process allows patients to participate in a doctor’s visit via telephone or video chat. These opportunities prevent the patient from visiting the medical practice and remaining distanced from other patients. Healthcare professionals can learn more about telehealth services by visiting Rocket Doctor right now.
Keeping Your Medical Details Private
Too often in a clinical setting, patient details are overheard by others in the practice. When communicating with medical staff, patients often discuss details while signing in for their appointment. For many patients, it’s important for them to keep these details private. They don’t want everyone at the practice to know the intimate details of their medical records. With telehealth, the patient speaks to the doctor from home, and the doctor is in their office away from others.
Eliminating Long Waits at the Doctor’s Office
When visiting a doctor in-person, patients experience long waiting times, and it can become inconvenient if they must visit the doctor during their lunch break. By switching to telehealth, the medical practice gives patients a more convenient opportunity where they won’t have to wait for an extended time at the doctor’s office. They can wait in the privacy of their own home. The doctors set up an appointment, and the doctor contacts the patient at the time of the appointment.
You Don’t Have to Travel to the Doctor’s Office
Traveling to the doctor’s office increases fuel costs for the patient, and whenever they need to visit a specialist, they may have to drive for over an hour. When patients need to see a specialist, they are also required to visit their primary healthcare physician to get a referral. Telehealth makes it easier for them to visit their doctor and a specialist without the extra travel time.
It Can Reduce How Much You Pay Overall
The cost of healthcare is often excessive for patients, and if there are ways to save money, telehealth is a great start. When visiting a doctor, the patient must sign in, and the staff must evaluate their health insurance details. Next, another worker has to find the patient’s file and get it ready for the appointment, and a nurse calls the patient’s name to get them to go to the examination room. The same nurse completes triage.
By eliminating all these extra processes, the medical practice decreases its overhead costs by eliminating all these additional steps. With telehealth, the doctor opens the patient’s file on a tablet and enters details about the patient during the phone or video-based visit. If the patient needs testing, the doctor coordinates with medical facilities through a new IT system. By saving money for the practice, the patients pay less per visit.
Patients and Staff Stay Healthier
The recent global pandemic has shown the world that telehealth is a better way to keep patients and the medical staff healthier. By using telehealth, the doctor doesn’t have to worry about their staff becoming ill because they were exposed to COVID-19 patients. All services are completed via the telehealth services. There aren’t any in-person visits unless the patient needs additional healthcare services.
Hospitals perform all testing, x-rays, and assessments required for the patients. The doctors set up appointments when additional diagnostic services are required. The findings are set back to the doctor and a new telehealth appointment is set up.
More Flexible Scheduling for Appointments
Medical practices can achieve more flexible appointment scheduling by using telehealth services. Since they are talking to patients via phone or video services, the doctor isn’t waiting for the patient to go through triage or walking from the waiting room to an exam room. They contact the patient directly, and this saves time for the doctor.
They could complete more appointments each hour by using the telehealth services. This could mean they will contact patients during more flexible hours, and the doctors will accommodate more patients throughout the day.
Streamlining In-Home Health Services
In-home health services are streamlined by using telehealth services. The doctor can give the in-home nurse instructions for treating the patient. They can direct the nurse on what to do in specific circumstances that improve the patient’s health overall.
Telehealth could change the way in-home nurses manage terminal patients and improve care for the elderly. Patients receive better health services since the doctor has better access to the patients, and they can see the patients via the telehealth services. Families can expect more accountability for the in-home nursing staff, and this could lower the chances of elder abuse and keep the patients safer. The doctor has more control over the patient’s treatments.
The healthcare industry will transform to fit the current circumstances, and patients will enjoy some of these changes. Telehealth eliminates in-person contact and mitigates the risk of exposure to COVID-19. The recent pandemic has required new changes in healthcare that prevent patients from getting exposed and medical facilities from facing liabilities.
The new systems help the patients get the medical care they need without traveling to a doctor’s office. They speak to their doctor via video conferencing or via telephone. These new systems revolutionize how doctors treat their patients and decrease the risk of exposure to dangerous viruses.
