COVID-19 and the safety measures implemented contributed to the digital transformation in the healthcare industry with the increased rate of adoption of remote patient monitoring and telehealth solutions. Traditional care delivery is here to stay, but we can see the shift towards a hybrid model of care combining both telehealth and traditional care delivery. Telehealth optimizes the workflow, integrates data, provides insightful reports and improves the quality of care and patient experience.
What is the future of telehealth after pandemic?
There are more and more healthcare providers including hospitals and post acute providers adopting telehealth. Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have fostered this adoption. They help healthcare providers to get reimbursement for virtual care delivery. CMS has also recently introduced the codes for Remote Therapeutic Monitoring, which opens more opportunities for the growth of telehealth and reimbursement opportunities in this field. Telehealth is a convenient way for patients to stay in touch with their doctors giving them access to healthcare no matter where they are situated. It also proved to increase adherence and patient engagement. We can see more commercial payers implementing virtual care in their strategy and benefit plans.
The reports provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows the increase in use of telehealth solutions by 154% in the March of 2020 compared to the previous year trends. And the telehealth market is expected to reach $397 billion USD by 2027 (Fortune Business Insights).
So, what are factors that contribute to this growth? Let’s analyze them below.
Current trends in telehealth
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Patient adoption
Telehealth opens the doors to continuous care, helping patients to stay connected to their healthcare providers. It is a convenient and cost-effective way to provide non-urgent care, chronic care management and follow-up appointments. The 2020 survey conducted by McKinsey & Company states 76% of patients show their interest in using telehealth. The use of telehealth has increased by 38% as opposed to the pre-pandemic period. This can be attributed to convenience, decreased waiting time, better infection screening and on-demand options available through telehealth. We also can see more insurance companies collaborating with healthcare providers. It allows insurance companies to collect healthcare data more efficiently and at a much less cost.
- Chronic care management
In the case of patients having chronic conditions, preventive care and disease management become critical to keep the disease under control and alleviate it. Chronic conditions lead annually to $3.8 Trillion health care costs in the US (CDC). The lack of patient adherence also contributes to these expenses.
Telehealth helps to save the costs and ensure patients follow their treatment, refill prescriptions, and come for regular follow-ups. It increases adherence and patient engagement. More frequent interactions with the patients allows healthcare providers to resolve the problems after they arise and avoid disease and symptoms progression.
- Data integration
Nowadays, many telehealth and RPM solutions are already integrated with Electronic Medical Records which allows to avoid data silos and information duplication. Physicians, clinicians and other healthcare providers can access all the patient information in one place and this information will be more rich in insights with trends, predictive analytics, activity and vitals tracking. We can also see how wearable devices and fitness apps exchange the data with healthcare apps to provide healthcare providers with a big picture. The better healthcare providers understand the lifestyle and the more they can track patients measurements and vitals signs, the more informed decisions they can make. And the informed decisions in their turn, reduce hospital readmissions, disease progression, other serious consequences and death.
The interoperability of telehealth solutions ensures accessibility, exchange, integration of data in real time between organizations. “When systems are interoperable, they don’t just share information but can interpret incoming data and present it as received, preserving its original context” (Chan, 2021).
- Investments in technology
Recognizing the benefits of telehealth solutions and on-demand care, more companies are investing in telehealth. In 2020 the global investment in telehealth increased by 169%. Telehealth provides a shift toward a patient-centric approach with more personalized and responsive levels of care. Patients and healthcare providers see the efficiency of telehealth and RPM and are inclined to use them more in the future. To fulfill this demand, technology companies are developing wellness trackers, wearables, telehealth and virtual apps which will relieve pressure on the healthcare sector and address the patient needs.
Telehealth and Remote Patient Monitoring have too many benefits to ignore them. It improves public health, access to care, saves time and money for healthcare organizations, and as they develop more they offer more customizable options available to cater to the unique needs of each particular health organization.
SenSights Care developed on the SenSights.AI Platform
Our SenSights Care Tablet Solution helps to solve the problem of undetected falls & wellness monitoring in seniors by offering the only state-of-the-art passive monitoring platform where the seniors/patient does not have to wear/charge anything.
It makes monitoring seniors and patients with chronic conditions like COVID-19, Memory, Falling, Wandering, Wellness, Diabetes, COPD/CHF and other illnesses effortless and convenient. The use of audio, video and text communication via phone and popular social media platforms (WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, Youtube) would help seniors to be constantly connected to the 24/7 nurse help desk in the region.
The Touchless Camera-Free Fall Detection sensor(s) connected to the SenSights Care app would notify the nurse desk if the fall occurred, so they can provide timely help to the patient. Contactless Wellness Monitoring is also available for seniors via Veyetals app embedded in SenSights Care Solution. So, forgetting to put on wearables for health monitoring is not an issue anymore. The main indicators that are tracked include Falls, Activity, Ambient Sensing, Geolocation, Steps, Heart Rate, Heart Rate Variability, Respiration Level, Temperature, Blood Pressure and Blood Glucose. The family members and doctors could also be added to the circle of care and receive medical alerts in case of health deterioration or emergency. The remote health monitoring is secure and Ontario verified and HIPAA compliant.
SenSights.AI
We are a North American-based startup that provides comprehensive capabilities for home care organizations to manage their senior care services using state-of-art AI and 5G technologies and allow for a greater independence. We are uniquely positioned as we are the only one with a combination of
- Ambient or Touchless Fall Detection
- Device-less or Contactless Wellness Monitoring
- Comprehensive Mobile, Tablet and Web Solution for Seniors, Caregivers and Agency
- Complete Out-of-box Telehealth and TeleMedicine Platform with integration with over 15+ smart devices and several leading EMRs/EHRs like PointClick Care, Cerner and many more in pipeline
- Over 40+ Data Scientists, Engineers and Medical Advisors to help integrate and improve digital transformation journey of our client with services, products and platform focused on senior market
We provide the best in class health platform for patient engagement, remote monitoring and virtual care. Patients are guided on smartphones, tablets and computers from preparation through recovery with the help of reminders, education and activity tracking. Providers can receive alerts, monitor patients and access analytics to deliver better care. Health systems use SenSights Care to improve patient satisfaction while reducing hospital length of stay, readmissions, and costs.
We would like to work with you to help you grow your business with our unique business model of sharing revenue with healthcare providers.
Book a consultation today to see how can help digitally transform your healthcare organization at https://sensights.ai/contact-us/
Learn more about our SenSights Care Solution on http://sensightscare.com/