The COVID-19 public health emergency could end in May. The impact of the pandemic on mainstream telemedicine cannot be underestimated.
Healthcare IT News spoke with Sean Mehra, CEO and co-founder of HealthTap, the first virtual emergency and primary care clinic.
Mehra discusses whether to go virtual first, which means the looming end of the public health emergency for virtual care, how patients using technology in their medical procedures can help, and the potential of telemedicine in 5 and 10 years.
Q: Many telemedicine professionals, as well as a large number of healthcare providers, suggest that a virtual approach is the way healthcare is evolving post-pandemic. Why do you think virtual makes sense in the first place?
A: Even outside the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual prioritization is a logical first step for all non-emergency medical issues. For both patients and doctors, the absence of personal visits takes more time and money. So it’s just allocating and using scarce resources—doctor’s time, patient’s time, and money—in the most efficient way.
This is important because, unfortunately, many people in the United States put off treatment due to financial or schedule constraints.
For example, “Should I go to the doctor and skip the day’s pay and just mess around with my personal plans and responsibilities, or should I wait until a more convenient time?” As we saw during the pandemic, delaying treatment can have dire consequences. results, and the first dummy almost does the trick.
Research shows that when people stay in touch with their healthcare provider, they live longer and healthier lives. This is because it is easier for doctors to get a holistic view of a patient’s health status over time.
When physicians and patients can do this conveniently with the current technology at our disposal, it is much easier to maintain these relationships and maintain timely and frequent communication for early detection and treatment of problems before they get worse.
Finally, telemedicine is a more cost-effective solution for healthcare providers as they no longer have to consider the overhead costs associated with operating a fixed point of care. These savings can be passed on directly to the 38% of Americans who avoid taking care of their health because of the cost.
Answer: Federal declarations of a state of emergency in connection with COVID-19 will disappear over time. In fact, telemedicine is not yet permanently enshrined in legislation, but it is just a function of our democracy. This issue has bipartisan support, it’s in line, and it’s going to happen.
Meanwhile, people are comfortable using telemedicine during the pandemic. Now this is an expected part of the healthcare experience.
US telemedicine laws need to evolve to make it sustainable for people in the long run. But the reality is that it will become the main way people communicate with their doctors about the most common health problems, address continuous care, and address chronic disease issues.
Q: You encourage people to take a more motivated approach to healthcare by incorporating technology into their medical procedures. Has the pandemic played a big role in this? What does this ultimately mean for telehealth?
A: I don’t think people are more motivated than ever to actively take care of their health. In fact, quite the opposite. Humanity has avoided and will continue to avoid proactive and preventive health care because it is stressful, time consuming and does not provide immediate returns – the benefits of a healthy lifestyle are measured in decades.
However, the pandemic has forced people to turn to telemedicine, so they are becoming more aware of the benefits of telemedicine. They have experienced the convenience and now know they can get the same or a similar level of service.
So we’ve reached a tipping point. As with most innovative technologies, once a superior solution is presented to a wide range of consumers, market forces usually quickly drive its widespread adoption and popularity.
Q: It looks like telemedicine is becoming the health care method of choice. Where do you see telemedicine in 5 and 10 years?
A: We will see three major changes on the horizon. First, the transition to telehealth as the default model of healthcare delivery. Considering the historical pattern, remember that we coined the term “e-commerce” to refer to online shopping; “commerce” is what we do personally.
E-commerce is what we really mean when we talk about buying something – by default. The concepts of telemedicine and medicine are similar. “Virtual care” will become synonymous with “care” and personal experience will be the exception rather than the standard.
Second, telemedicine will be better integrated with local health care. Today, most telehealth services do not involve in-person care, unless it is virtual care provided as an adjunct to an existing face-to-face clinic. In the future, telemedicine providers will be able to more seamlessly switch between local clinics, hospitals and specialists.
Finally, we will see how telemedicine continues to expand the range of treatments and management that can be performed remotely. As more convenient service options become available, such as home testing, drug/supply delivery, home monitoring, and home doctor visits, the extent to which doctors can provide virtual care without requiring patients to travel to a physical office . of care will make medical care more convenient and efficient than ever.
Follow Bill’s HIT coverage on LinkedIn: Bill Siwicki Author email: bsiwicki@himss.org Healthcare IT News is a publication of HIMSS.
Post time: Mar-22-2023