Better Healthcare. Enhanced Efficiency.
1. Benefits to Patients
Imagine that you have asthma and you are having an acute attack and on a weekend, you don’t know what to do? Since almost everyone has a cell phone, the ability to conduct a video consult with a doctor is a new technological advance that will help doctors and nurses to talk to you and assess your level of distress, then help direct you to the best treatment center or emergency room. The benefits are that you can have faster assessment and proper triage, you avoid travel and waiting in line.
Now imagine that you are an elderly patient with long standing diabetes and you have a foot ulcer that is hurting more than before and the area is getting more red. A telehealth consult with a nurse could be a limb saving event. You use your camera on your cell phone to image the area in question and the nurse or doctor can better assess the wound and determine the most appropriate treatment, either a nurse home visit to perform wound care or an emergency room visit for antibiotics and wound care. A nurse visits your home and performs a wound care treatment and contacts the doctor by telehealth, she shows the wound and the doctor also prescribes an antibiotic for what is seen as an early cellulitis. 48 hours later the patient is well and back to normal.
Another likely scenario would be a mother who is distressed about a new rash that has just surfaced on her 3 year old child. Using her cell phone camera she would be able to have a quick response consult with a doctor who is 1 hour away by car. The child is having a low grade fever. The doctor determines that this rash is in response to a new detergent that the child might be allergic to and no need to come in but to observe and call back in 24 hours.
A psychiatrist is concerned about a patient with chronic manic-depression and most recently the patient is having a very deep depressed mood. The doctor requests that a new antidepressant medication be started and that the patient who lives in the mountains far away from the office, contact him by telehealth visit every 24 hours for the next 2 days. The patient improves over the next two days and a hospitalization is avoided. The patient goes back to work and the psychiatrist is happy.
A 65 year old woman has just had a new titanium hip replacement and was sent home 2 days prior with proper instructions from the hospital. She notices, blood seeping from the wound and now has a fever of 102 degrees and feeling anxious and increased pain. The surgeon is at a second hospital a couple hours away. The patient requests a telehealth visit from the operating surgeon and the doctor can now see the patient’s wound and her level of distress, she is mildly diaphoretic and light headed. The surgeon is concerned that she is having an early infection and must come to his office for further evaluation and antibiotic treatment. She is sent home with proper treatment and in 48 hours she is doing much better. A hospitalization and possible sepsis is averted and everyone is happy.
2. Benefits to Hospitals and Healthplans
The benefits are obious, improved patient care, enhanced efficiency and triage, decreased hospitalization, improved bottom line revenue.
The landscape of the healthcare system in the United States is changing with new entities called ACOs or accountable care organizations which are now being subcontracted by healthplans and Medicare to care for specific patient populations. These ACOs are now responsible for the delivery of healthcare on a specified budget. Telehealth can improve the delivery of care to that patient population. Because these ACOs are networks of contracted providers, clinics and hospitals, it is imperative that patients go to only in-network participants. When patients go out of network, the ACO costs skyrocket. Telehealth can play a role in assisting patient triage to in-network providers.
Nimbus-T has a telehealth program for doctors and hospital systems. We can help you get your program up and running faster. If you are a small group or solo provider, we can help you with great service. Contact Us.
VSee Messenger Pro
Vsee Messenger is the easiest and most efficient way to develop a Telehealth program. It is easier to use for you and your patient. It is available for download, free to start. You should download onto your smart phone, iPad, laptop and desktop.
VSee Clinic
Vsee Clinic is our enterprise version with the most features including scheduling, short EMR, billing and more. It is aimed for efficiently creating a telehealth program for medical groups, clinics, hospitals and departments.