If you live in an urban area, you likely take for granted there will be numerous hospitals and physician practices (including those with high-level subspecialty care) within a short distance of home. But for much of the world, access to even basic healthcare can be difficult. Those who live in rural areas of the U.S. and other countries often must travel long distances to see a primary care physician. Critical access hospitals, which provide much of the care for rural Americans, are struggling. Many are expected to close in the near future. And access to specialists and subspecialists is even more difficult. By Sid Nair, VP & Global General Manager, Dell Services Healthcare & Life Sciences
By Sid Nair, VP & Global General Manager, Dell Services Healthcare & Life Sciences
If you live in an urban area, you likely take for granted there will be numerous hospitals and physician practices (including those with high-level subspecialty care) within a short distance of home. But for much of the world, access to even basic healthcare can be difficult. Those who live in rural areas of the U.S. and other countries often must travel long distances to see a primary care physician. Critical access hospitals, which provide much of the care for rural Americans, are struggling. Many are expected to close in the near future. And access to specialists and subspecialists is even more difficult.
Even people in urban areas often find it difficult to see a physician. People with mobility problems can find it challenging to get to the doctor’s office, and hourly employees who work 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. have to take time off and lose pay to visit most physician practices.
The Affordable Care Act, which increased the number of people with health insurance by many millions, has also increased the demand for care. Making most efficient use of all healthcare resources will be the only way to effectively meet that demand.
Telehealth, which gives patients the ability to consult with a physician or other care provider via videoconference, can help solve many of these problems. It’s not new technology – other businesses have used videoconferencing for years – but until recently, the financial incentives to use it haven’t been in place. The good news is that the technology has gotten much better and much less expensive in the past couple of years, and excellent videoconferencing capabilities are now affordable for even small practices. Payers are reimbursing physicians for virtual visits, and with the imperative to reduce readmissions, as well as outcomes-based payment models, telehealth visits are a cost-effective service. That means that telehealth will soon be ubiquitous in U.S. healthcare.
Better access to primary care and specialist consultations
Here in the U.S., many physicians are adopting e-Visit technology that lets them see patients who can’t make it to the office. In addition to distance, mobility and scheduling problems, e-visits can be very useful if you think you might have the flu or another infectious disease. Rather than sharing your germs with other patients in the waiting room, you can see your doctor via your computer, smartphone or other device that is video enabled. If a prescription is needed, it can be called in to the pharmacy.
For those in rural areas, symptoms are often ignored because seeing a doctor takes so much effort. A telehealth visit can help rural patients figure out whether they have something minor, like indigestion, or something far more serious, like a heart problem, and take appropriate action. Telehealth companies like Health Net Connect are setting up patient care kiosks in retail stores that allow patients to consult with physicians located elsewhere. The kiosks include a range of diagnostic devices that give the remote physician needed biometric data. This will greatly improve access to care in rural communities far from major medical centers, and in urban areas, shift workers can use them for after-hours care at a reasonable cost. It is an efficient use of the physicians’ time, because they can cover many geographic locations without leaving their offices.
Telehealth can also take specialized skills to areas where they are lacking. For example, the Mayo Clinic Telestroke Network, operating from the Mayo Clinic Phoenix hub, links neurologists, emergency physicians, nurses, and radiologists with remote bedside physicians and nurses at 13 spoke hospitals across Arizona. The program has a 1 minute median response time, achieved 96 percent accuracy of diagnosis and decision making, with safety and efficacy outcomes comparable to those of stroke centers, and a 60 percent reduction in air and ground ambulance transfer. The network estimates that since its inception in 2007, it has saved more than 70 quality years of life and $5 million in costs.
Other subspecialty groups provide 24-hour coverage for networks of hospitals, monitoring ICU patients and providing consultation to the medical and nursing staffs. This greatly broadens access to high level skills, improving care and outcomes. It also reduces cost, because without that virtual visit capability, many patients would have to be transferred to urban medical centers, increasing hospital costs and adding expensive medical transportation to the bill.
To the stars and beyond
Telehealth also makes it possible to see a physician in the remote corners of the world and even outer space. For example, the telehealth system VSee is used by western physicians to see patients who live in parts of Afghanistan that they can’t visit due to the high risk of abduction. It’s also being used on the International Space Station to provide care for astronauts. During the recent Ebola outbreak, it was used to allow patients in isolation rooms interact with physicians. This reduced the chances that physicians, whose skills were in short supply, would contract the disease.
As healthcare payers, both private and public, move toward value-based payments, telehealth technology will likely become an essential capability for U.S. hospitals and physician practices. And for medical providers in other countries, where access may be difficult or hospital beds insufficient, telehealth will help bring care that is cost-effective and convenient.
About The Author
Sid Nair is Vice President & Global General Manager for the Healthcare & Life Sciences (HCLS) business at Dell Services. Sid joined Dell in 2011 and leads the global HCLS team focused on hospitals, physicians, health plans and life sciences customers.
