The COVID-19 (Coronavirus) virus is the worst pandemic in human history. The spread of this epidemic was so rapid, and the death toll was so high that it crippled our economy and changed our way of life. Every country around the globe has ceased manufacturing and had an enormous impact on the servicing industry, causing a major drop in the market. Governments worldwide have declared a state of emergency and implemented legislation to restrict the spread of the virus. People have been placed into house quarantine and are no longer permitted to leave their homes unless an emergency arises.
Despite all of these precautions, the Coronavirus has been causing havoc. The hospital systems and employees are completely overburdened, causing hospital resources to be stretched extremely thin. This bleak scenario has been rendered even gloomier by widespread panic. Panic is inherent during crises, prompting many individuals to seek medical attention for almost everything. The infection has pushed individuals to insanity, and a single sneeze is enough to send off alarm bells in their brains. People in a state of panic are finding it increasingly difficult to contact their doctors. Restricted patient access and an increase in walk-in patients, as a result, have exacerbated the problem.
Hospitals have begun to employ Telehealth & Telemedicine services & systems to grasp this particularly critical situation better and prevent the spread of illness. If you are still not one of those large-scale entities, you will be at a great loss with the latest Omicron situation. Telehealth/telemedicine is a method that uses telecommunication technology to deliver healthcare services effectively. In layman’s words, it allows patients easier access to healthcare by using their communication devices (mobiles/pads/laptops/other PDAs). Doctors can now swiftly identify your disease and, more crucially, assuage your anxieties without exposing you to infection in the waiting area.
And with the latest rebates in CMS2022 and in years to come during pandemic situations, the gain overshadows the investment 1000-fold.
Benefits of Implementing Telemedicine
1 – Ease the workload of hospitals & healthcare organizations
Doctors are encouraging people not to hurry to the hospital if they have flu-like symptoms due to an increase in the number of afflicted patients and a lack of resources. Instead, they request that individuals self-monitor for fourteen days and then return to the hospital if they have not improved. People, understandably, fear during a fatal epidemic, and this causes them to rush to neighboring clinics/hospitals to get tested or, at the very least, to obtain expert reassurance that what they have is merely the flu. Aside from the fact that this just overburdens the already overburdened medical personnel, there is also the risk of the virus spreading owing to hospital overpopulation. This, however, may be prevented with the aid of Telehealth. All a person needs to do is use their PDAs to contact their clinician, and patients may receive real-time diagnoses without ever compromising safety. It also frees up doctors and other clinical personnel to focus on more critical situations.
2 – Establish a strong channel of communication
Rumors are abundant, and with the development of false news and trolls, it’s difficult to accept the information we’re given. Sometimes facts are excessively underestimated, while other times, they are outrageously overstated. However, by utilizing telemedicine, we can develop a powerful impartial line of communication that offers real information directly from the source rather than having it distorted by hearsay. It allows clinicians to stay in regular contact with the community and keep patients informed of the severity of the issue. People may simply obtain safety guidelines and necessary information from the source, health care providers. Telehealth serves as an ideal communication link.
3 – Effortless healthcare access to a wider range of patients
With transportation and other essential facilities being restricted to prevent crowding and patients being required to stay at home to prevent the spread of infection, it becomes extremely difficult for a patient to receive the necessary therapy. By utilizing Telehealth, physicians and patients can always communicate in the most convenient way imaginable. This is useful not just in times of crisis but also in other situations. Older patients find it difficult to travel to the doctor’s office to have their prescriptions filled, working people find it difficult to get themselves checked due to time constraints, and all other cases where patients find it difficult to access basic healthcare can easily obtain it through Telehealth.
4 – Allow doctors to work from home
Due to the current epidemic, all industries have halted normal production and either granted paid leave to their employees or instituted the practice of working from home. Only physicians and other healthcare professionals appear to be confronted with the epidemic front on. With diminishing supplies and rapidly dwindling finances, doctors are forced to treat patients without protective protection. This is why Telehealth systems are critical. It gives doctors the option of working from home. Physicians may diagnose and treat patients from the comfort of their own homes using telemedicine. Telehealth enables health systems and clinicians to give their patients the same level of care without endangering the doctor’s safety.
5 – Ultimate aid for doctors
Physicians are now completely focused on treating COVID-19 patients and preventing the virus from spreading. This, however, means that they will no longer be able to give the same level of care to their other patients. They could quickly communicate with their patients, stay in touch, and follow their rehabilitation after utilizing telemedicine. They now have a readily accessible centralized system that allows them to track all of their patients in real time. In circumstances where patients need ongoing care for the same condition, doctors may utilize Telehealth to automate their treatment plan; however, in cases where patients only need a simple prescription filled or other basic diagnostic, doctors can simply track and ensure the appropriate therapy.
Telehealth/Telemedicine is the future of streamlined and optimized healthcare access, and when tested during the current epidemic, it proved to be the most helpful tool for clinicians and patients alike. Let us actively implement this beneficial method across all health systems, hospitals, and clinics. We at RCM Matter, and our clients, in particular, can witness that telemedicine systems are a must-have contingency during a crisis, and it surely benefits the community as a whole during more typical times.