Without proper implementation and communication, the patient can easily start to feel like he is “dehumanized” as one study of telemedicine put it (Barwa, Bhute, & Rani, 2014). The patient can start to feel like they are inhuman objects when they are seeing the medical provider through the technology instead of in person. Patients may miss the personal connection with the physician and may feel a sense of insecurity and lack of trust using the telehealth technology. This feeling of dehumanization may lead to unhappy patients that will in turn lead to an unsuccessful medical practice (Barwa, Bhute, & Rani, 2014).
Medical providers do not want to adopt telehealth without the acceptance of their patients. Many patients need the warm personal interaction …show more content…
Outputs from ECGs, angiography, computed tomography, echocardiography, MRIs, and microscopic pathology findings all lend themselves to transmission as long as there is internet connectivity.
Telehealth adds value through cost-effectiveness, accuracy and timeliness. Patients can set reminders on their tablets and smart phones to tell them when to take their medicines or make an appointment; determine their caloric intake by simply taking a picture of their plate of food; or use an activity tracker to monitor the number of steps they have taken, heart rates, calories expended, miles walked and fitness goals reached. These measurements can then be uploaded wirelessly from the devices to their smart phone and if desired, shared with their provider.
Medical practices now routinely share MRI, blood tests or X-ray reports on-line with patients before in-person doctor visits. This results in a better prepared/more enlightened patient conversing with the physician during the one-on-one session – an excellent example of how telehealth technologies can supplement and enhance traditional medical …show more content…
In a study at Partners Healthcare, more than 3000 patients with congestive heart failure had their vital signs monitored remotely with results uploaded to providers daily. Decision support software was used as a tool to identify those patients who were in need for attention. It was found that three or four nurses could effectively care for up to 250 patients. More importantly, hospital re-admissions dropped by 44 percent and savings of more than $10,000,000 were realized over a six year period (Adler-Milstein, Kvedar, & Bates, 2014).This study also suggests that often it is not cost-effective to have a highly-trained/highly paid stroke neurologist or intensivist assigned to one intensive care unit (ICU) when there may be limited need for his/her talents during his/her watch. More effective would be to have him/her participate in “eICU” practices where he/she is available electronically to assist more than one ICU concurrently. Several studies have shown that this approach can reduce mortality rates by 20%, decrease the patient’s stay in ICU by 30% and subsequently decrease the cost of the ICU stays (Adler-Milstein, Kvedar, & Bates,
Medical providers do not want to adopt telehealth without the acceptance of their patients. Many patients need the warm personal interaction …show more content…
Outputs from ECGs, angiography, computed tomography, echocardiography, MRIs, and microscopic pathology findings all lend themselves to transmission as long as there is internet connectivity.
Telehealth adds value through cost-effectiveness, accuracy and timeliness. Patients can set reminders on their tablets and smart phones to tell them when to take their medicines or make an appointment; determine their caloric intake by simply taking a picture of their plate of food; or use an activity tracker to monitor the number of steps they have taken, heart rates, calories expended, miles walked and fitness goals reached. These measurements can then be uploaded wirelessly from the devices to their smart phone and if desired, shared with their provider.
Medical practices now routinely share MRI, blood tests or X-ray reports on-line with patients before in-person doctor visits. This results in a better prepared/more enlightened patient conversing with the physician during the one-on-one session – an excellent example of how telehealth technologies can supplement and enhance traditional medical …show more content…
In a study at Partners Healthcare, more than 3000 patients with congestive heart failure had their vital signs monitored remotely with results uploaded to providers daily. Decision support software was used as a tool to identify those patients who were in need for attention. It was found that three or four nurses could effectively care for up to 250 patients. More importantly, hospital re-admissions dropped by 44 percent and savings of more than $10,000,000 were realized over a six year period (Adler-Milstein, Kvedar, & Bates, 2014).This study also suggests that often it is not cost-effective to have a highly-trained/highly paid stroke neurologist or intensivist assigned to one intensive care unit (ICU) when there may be limited need for his/her talents during his/her watch. More effective would be to have him/her participate in “eICU” practices where he/she is available electronically to assist more than one ICU concurrently. Several studies have shown that this approach can reduce mortality rates by 20%, decrease the patient’s stay in ICU by 30% and subsequently decrease the cost of the ICU stays (Adler-Milstein, Kvedar, & Bates,