CoVid19 has made hospitals off-limits to patients with both primary and chronic conditions. But illnesses and conditions don’t miraculously disappear amidst a pandemic – they are temporarily sidelined by hospitals and healthcare providers.
However, patients have to live with discomfort, pain and stress of not knowing when their appointments will be reinstated and hospitals risk alienating the very people they should be reassuring.
So, every healthcare provider needs to be evaluating their remote caring solutions for these critical reasons:
- Limit risk from hospital visits – Patients understand the CoVid19 is a danger to their health. The last thing that any patient wants to live with is the prospect of the hospital requesting them to visit their premises. By the same token, hospital metrics measure on-going, open cases. The ability to offer care and improve the condition of the patient based on vital monitoring, virtual pain management etc helps physicians to move the dial on patient care without jeopardizing themselves, as well as the patient, with exposure to CoVid19.
- Reduce loss of revenue from cancelled appointments – During a pandemic patients are extremely cautious of visiting high-risk locations, which hospitals invariably are. So telehealth is essential to be able to maintain operations without increasing revenue losses.
- Keep beds free by providing virtual care in a safe manner – ailments and diseases develop over time. Being able to undertake virtual diagnoses, provide vital monitoring, as well as, managing pain levels are critical for preventative healthcare. It is in the hospital’s interest to reduce bed use (and one of its key KPIs) so telehealth is essential.
- Patients are going digital – your organisation can’t be a dinosaur. Whether it is shopping online or using zoom to connect with family, patient behaviour has been heavily digitized during CoVid19. Irrespective of age-group, patients have turned to the virtual world to find solutions for their daily needs. Healthcare is not far off. Leverage the opportunity to develop telehealth solutions when patients are most looking for them. The reality is, much like Amazon dominating the ecommerce world, it will be the early innovators who offer simple, yet effective, telehealth solutions which will prevail.
CoVid19 has led to a digital boom in all areas of life. It is now more essential than ever for hospital and healthcare providers to build on the virtual medical world and offer patients experiences which present a real win-win. Whether we like it or not, the truth is that telehealth is here to stay. It is time to act, or risk falling behind.