Case Study: Teledoc Health Care

Telehealth is an innovative approach to health care that is rapidly expanding in all areas of patient care. It has been shown to be cost effective and is rapidly being integrated into everyday practices from clinics, hospitals, court systems, school systems and even the local drug store.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss how technology has impacted the health care delivery system. Health care technology is advancing at an increasingly rapid rate in the United States, and globally. Patients and providers are witnessing these changes through the use of telehealth, and telemedicine applications. Telehealth, and telemedicine are often used interchangeably, however there is a difference between the two applications. Telehealth is the use of technology to deliver health care, health information, or health education at a distance (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d.).

Some health insurance providers and employers have health advocates, usually registered nurses, these experts provide medical advice and save the individual time in emergency departments and the doctor’s office unnecessarily. According to Sewell (2016), “Telenursing offers nurses a chance create more collaborative and autonomous roles and at the same time reduce the overall cost of healthcare” (p.322). My experience with telehealth is limited to home health care, our company would have us follow up high risk new admissions with a daily phone call for the first

This will be a cooperative plan with the primary care offices. Patients with chronic illnesses will be referred to care managers if they don’t already have one assigned.

Telehealth has been a large topic of debate in recent years because of the economic, political, and regulatory points of view. In deciding outcomes in these areas, it is the responsibility of all healthcare professions to identify information gaps in order to come to the more rational and beneficial conclusion about telehealth (Grace, 2014). Economically, there are concerns regarding the access and affordability of telehealth equipment. At the same time, telehealth is being adapted in ways to be utilized with technological devices that many individuals already have access to like telephones, cellular phones, and personal computers/laptops. Telehealth can positively impact both clients and providers by increasing access to care and reducing the time and costs associated with traveling for health care (Allen, Aylott, Loyola, Moric, & Saffarek, 2015). As telehealth develops technological devices can be made more affordable and can be covered by insurance policies (Thomas et al., 2014). Many nurses functioning as case managers can help provide the tools and resources individuals require to manage their health.

Telehealth services refers to the exchange of health information and services through telecommunication services in order to support anyone, at any time, in any location. Telehealth systems allows doctors to be in one place and treat patients in rural or urban areas – such as their homes or any another providers premises. The technology behind such concept is particularly helpful for patients with trouble leaving the house, or that live in remote areas from specialists (Narisi, 2013)

“Telehealth changes the location of care by connecting patients and clinicians virtually, in place of the usual face-to-face contact.” (Darkins 2012).

Increasing access to quality health care services is a problem that can be tackled with emerging technology, such as Telehealth. Telehealth is becoming universally essential for efficient, cost-effective delivery of health care across a variety of settings (Bashshur & Shannon, 2010). Telehealth is proving to be an effective tool in combatting the problem of provider shortages as evidenced by rural hospitals starting to provide electronic consultations with specialists all over the country (Betbeze, 2017). Although telehealth technologies were originally aimed at improving access to health care for geographically remote patients, the areas of care being used by telehealth has extended its use well beyond those who are geographically isolated

Telehealth service is becoming increasingly used especially in rural communities where it is difficult to get health care providers to go to such communities to provide health care services; often, in such communities, you have just one or two primary care providers for a large population of people. States are now more than ever recognizing the benefits of treating disease in a timely manner to prevent worsening and potential hospitalization which is hard to do in some rural Counties. According to The National conference of State legislatures, 43 states and the District of Columbia now provide some form of Medicaid reimbursement for telehealth services and 19 states and the District of Columbia now require private insurance plans in the state

Improved quality is another benefit of telemedicine. The actual quality of healthcare services being delivered by via telemedicine, are just as good as the quality of care being rendered in traditional in-person consultations, shown in recent studies. Special facilities like mental health and ICU care; telemedicine is known to deliver an excellent product. With telemedicine aiding these special facilities, it creates even greater outcomes, and substantial satisfaction from the patients (americantelemed, 2012). Out of all the benefits that have been listed, the patient’s demand for telemedicine can be one of the biggest benefits of telemedicine. Consumers are really just enjoying telemedicine. Telemedicine greatest impacts are on the patient, their families, and their community. As mentioned earlier, telemedicine patient demand mainly derived from the reduced travel time for a patient. The reduction of travel time and traveling long distances can reduce the overall stress for a patient by

I find myself liking the point of service plan (POS). This kind of health plan puts together a lower cost option for members selecting to use in the network, but a higher cost for out of network care providers, physicians, and care facilities within their network. These health care providers and services are selected to provide services at a discounted contracted price for the point of the service plan. It is imperative for members to get consent from their primary care physician (PCP) to visit a specialist. Members must remember to receive the best value in the health care plan, they should contact their PCP first or pay extra expenses in the end.

Advantages: With Telehealth, people are able to have consultation with their health care provider at home/office. This is convenience for those patients with physical disability or elderlies. This also makes their family member’s life easier as they do not need to take an off in order to bring the patient to hospital. It is cheaper to have consultation with doctors through Telehealth compare to visit the doctor personally. This would also reduce travel expenses. Telehealth helps to save time as patients do not need to spent time on traveling and waiting for their turn to have consultation.

When using Telemedicine humans can accomplish many great things and can benefit everyone. The potential this innovation has could be really great if they succeed on making it right. If this Innovation worked many lives will be saved across the world. As well as lives we might be able to learn new things from this and find more cures. According to professionals at the medical field telemedicine has been approving for the past couple years and as potential to keep going. Not only is this innovation good at saving lives it is also helping the economy by getting rid of competition. Even though some people see competition in the economy a good thing but it also has its downs that can really help some

Often the biggest barriers to accessing healthcare are cost and location. Lower income individuals just do not have the resources to have optimal healthcare, or cannot take the time away from employment to deal with health issues. One potential solution to help with these problems could be “telehealth.” Telehealth allows a lower level healthcare practitioner to communicate with a physician or specialists when necessary. Remote rural areas use a Physician Assistant or a Nurse Practitioner on location in remote areas.

There is an increasing need within the U.S. for quality health care to be provided to individuals who have limited access whether it is due to a rural environment, disabilities, or in the field of battle. Telemedicine is literally medicine provided at a distance. Telehealth is able to alleviate some of the effects of a growing shortage of professionals such as primary care physicians. In this type of health care delivery, the dynamics between the patient and the entire health care system changes. Telemedicine meets the increasing demands of patients to have greater access, or responsiveness, from a health care provider. It also meets the needs of the provider who is very interested in time-saving, safety-enhancing assistance in their daily practice. Employers and health plans are also very interested in telemedicine as a means of improving compliance with treatment plans and care management initiatives (Hodgkins, 2008). The use of email also allows the patient to have increased access to their health care providers. Instead of calling their health care provider’s office, patients are now able to email their non-emergent health care questions to their provider. Conversely, health care providers are able to email patients reminders for appointments or wellness tips.