The telehealth sector is expected to grow to a market value of over $130 billion by 2025—up from $26.5 billion in 2018.
With numbers like these, healthcare providers now choose to implement telehealth in their practices. Read on to learn more about the benefits of telehealth and its broadening effect on the medical field.
What Is Telehealth?
Telehealth sounds a lot like telemedicine, but they’re actually different in application. Telemedicine facilitates clinical services and remote doctor consultations. It also aids in managing follow-up visits and chronic conditions.
Telehealth technology is the driving force behind telemedicine. It is implemented in clinical and non-clinical scenarios. For this reason, telehealth aims to enhance the entire healthcare system.
The goals of telehealth include:
- Making healthcare more accessible to people in rural areas
- Making services and doctor appointments more convenient for people with limited transportation options
- Providing easier access to medical specialists
- Improving coordination of care among a patient and the members of their healthcare team
- Providing support for self-managed healthcare
Telehealth technology helps people get the care they need quickly. This is through increasing patient access to healthcare specialists and physicians.
The Benefits of Telehealth
Telehealth offers several benefits to healthcare organizations. It’s a vital strategy for providers to manage the health of their patients from a high-volume but low-cost perspective.
Improved Relationships Between Doctors and Patients
By implementing telehealth practices, organizations can better respond to patient demands. This responsiveness improves the relationship between physicians and patients.
These enhanced relationships can evolve to reduce hospitalizations and readmissions. It also results in fewer overnight stays and higher patient satisfaction.
Heightened Patient Care in Rural Communities
In rural areas, patients may live hundreds of miles away from the healthcare facilities they need. In smaller communities, there may be a shortage of medical professionals.
In these situations, telehealth can save patients from travelling excessive distances. They now have convenient access to appropriate healthcare.
Increased Management of Chronic Disease
Telehealth technology can be beneficial for individuals with chronic diseases. This is crucial, as six in ten adults in the US have a chronic illness. Four in ten adults have two or more chronic conditions.
People with chronic diseases visit ERs and are admitted to hospitals more than healthy individuals. These frequent doctors visits are a substantial factor in the country’s total spend on healthcare.
To keep patients out of the hospital, physicians can implement telehealth technology. Telehealth is ideal for this, as chronic disease patients require frequent monitoring and ongoing patient contact.
As providers implement this practice, a need for effective telehealth case management arises. A case management system can ensure that relevant information stays up-to-date.
Technology Meets Healthcare
Telehealth has the potential to make healthcare accessible to more people. It can also improve the overall quality of healthcare for us all. Implementing a telehealth strategy is now crucial to the success of any healthcare organization.
The benefits of telehealth show that practicing telemedicine is now key. It leads to better-coordinated, more efficient, and closer-to-home healthcare.
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