Note: This is meant to be a PowerPoint presentation.
Imagine. You’re an aging gentleman with a chronic disease that impedes your ability to walk. You have a doctor’s appointment. Before you leave, you have to get dressed. Your wife has to lift that heavy wheelchair inside the trunk. Because of your condition, getting out of the car is a hassle in itself. The whole experience is more exhausting than it should be. To add to all of this, you’re late to your appointment because you couldn’t find parking. This is routine. This is your monthly check up.Broadly speaking, telehealth is medicine in conjunction with the internet of things. It’s using electronic communications such as phones, computers, and your cell phone, to get connected with your healthcare provider. It’s cheaper than going to see the doctor; not just in terms of an office visit co-pay but your time as well.These are some of the positives related to telehealth. They range from disease management to remote sensing. Since most of the things on this slide can be done conventionally without telehealth, I want to point to two things: cost savings and preventing disease spread. Sigal et al. (2020) reviewed 281,701 encounters with telehealth and found that $2,769.59 would be saved annually per doctor encounter. This took into account offsite driving, time, and cost. Also, with today’s current pandemic, telehealth can limit the spread of disease.Listed here are some of the reasons why we need telehealth in the future. To meet this need, some have called for a new clinical model that includes technology. Concerns about quality of care and resistance to technology are valid but studies have shown promise. In one study, both internet and non-internet users were willing to learn new technologies to help manage their type 2 diabetes (Mastrain & McGonigle, 2016, p. 249). Delaigue et al. (2018) found that increased caseloads did not decrease the quality of telehealth for low resourced communities.I made the case for telehealth and the advantages that come with it. Our current healthcare system is resource intensive. Telehealth can reduce cost while maintaining quality care. Any questions?
References
Delaigue, S., Bonnardot, L., Steichen, O., Garcia, D. M., Venugopal, R., Saint-Sauveur, J.-F., & Wootton, R. (2018). Seven years of telemedicine in Médecins Sans Frontières demonstrate that offering direct specialist expertise in the frontline brings clinical and educational value. Journal of Global Health, 8(2), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.7189/jogh.08.020414
Mastrain, K., & McGonigle, D. (2016). Patient Engagement and Connected Health. In K. G. Mastrain & D. McGonigle (Authors), Informatics for Health Professionals (Navigate 2 Advantage Access) (pp. 237-262). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
MedlinePlus. (n.d.). Telehealth. Retrieved March 4, 2020, from MedlinePlus website: https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000919.htm
Sigal, I., Dayal, P., Hoch, J., Mouzoon, J., Morrow, E., & Marcin, J. (2020). Travel, Time, and Cost Savings Associated with a University Medical Center’s Video Medical Interpreting Program. Telemedicine and e-Health, 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2019.0220
