Essay on Economic Impact of Telehealth

In the United States, a renewed interest occurred in telehealth in the 1990s according to McGonigle and Mastrian because of escalating costs, the need for greater access for all

There are real benefits for both the patient and the clinician. The individual patient has more control and understanding of their long term health condition, and the clinicians utilising telehealth as part of a care pathway can ensure that they are proactively involved in the ongoing wellbeing of their patient, managing timely interventions and helping to improve their patient's quality of life.

Telehealth has become a preferred method of healthcare delivery for many patients and healthcare professionals alike. Some key benefits include its convenience and cost effectiveness. It also allows patients to play a more active role in their own healthcare, which has been found to dramatically increase patient outcomes. While research suggests that the advantages of telehealth outweigh the disadvantages, it is important to note that not everyone would benefit from this form of technology. It is crucial for the patient’s healthcare team to assess if this method of healthcare delivery is appropriate for that individual patient. In today’s society, staying current on the latest technologies is extremely important. Although telehealth

Employers are beginning to incorporate telemedicine into the benefits package for their employees. Recognizing e-visits are beneficial to the employer, because the employee will not need as much time away from work to have non-emergent health conditions treated. In addition, the service is a cost savings to both the employer and employee. There are some employer groups covering these services at 100 percent for their employees’. E-visits are cheaper than clinic, and office visits.

monitored by medical professionals. According to McKnight (2012), “Studies indicate patients with telehealth care are noted to have a 25% reduction in the number of inpatient hospital days and a 19% reduction in the rate of hospitalizations” (p. 4).

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

Many of these barriers exist from lack of essentially knowing the benefits of what the incorporation of telehealth can offer within the aspect of this type of community. At times, there has been a great interest in telehealth surrounding its potential to reduce health care costs along with the improvement of patient outcomes, but at times there has been no known scientific evidence base underpinning it (McLean, Sheikh, Cresswell, Nurmmatov, Mukherjee, Hemmi & Pagilari, 2013).

In the face of the limits of traditional support, it is necessary not only to redesign an organization, but to a paradigm shift that allows the socio-health performance to be efficiently and sustainably distributed to the widest possible audience. Digital technologies applied to healthcare and healthcare systems can increase their efficiency, improve their quality of life and give innovative impetus to healthcare markets. Telemedicine services can therefore be assimilated to any diagnostic / therapeutic health service. However, telemedicine performance does not replace traditional healthcare performance in the personal-patient relationship, but integrates it to improve its effectiveness, efficiency and appropriateness.

Telehealth can help reduce high cost hospital visits such as stroke cases, neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) cases and other emergencies. There have been recent initiatives that collected data to see if telehealth was a cost effective option for healthcare. One initiative, Baby CareLink, places telehealth units in homes of low-birth weight neonates.12 For this initiative, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston installs the telehealth units in the neonates home for $2,000, and that units replaces a NICU stay of $5,000 per day.12 If a neonate was to stay in the NICU for 7 days, that would be a $35,000 expense that the $2,000 telehealth unit replaces. 12 Different disease states and emergency states will have different cost factors depending on the amount of medical care. However, the amount that a family can save on their newborn by investing in telehealth is quite significant. In a study from the Milwaukee and Iron Mountain Veterans Affairs Medical Centers (VAMC) telepulmonary program, telehealth was found to be more cost effective compared to routine care. This study was conducted over a year and telehealth had costs of $335 per patient per year compared to routine care, which was $585 per patient per year, and onsite care was also compared at $1,166 per patient per year.13 A sensitivity analysis was performed on these values, and it did show that the cost-effectiveness telehealth was dependent on successful telehealth consultation, equipment cost, and

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 is the monitoring via remote exchange of physiological data between a patient at home and health care professionals at hospitals or clinics to assist with diagnosis and treatment. As our society ages and health care costs increase, government and private insurance payers are seeking technological interventions. Technological solutions may provide high quality healthcare services at a distance, utilize professional resources more effectively, and enable elderly and ill patients to remain in their own homes. Patients may experience decreased hospitalization and urgent care settings, and out of home care may not be required as the patient is monitored at home. However, no study has been able to prove telehealth

Although the telehealth seems to have the advantage of maximizing effectiveness and efficiency at the lowest possible cost when properly planned and executed; there are serious ethical and legal problems that should be solved prior to its implementation. Telehealth, as in other health related technological developments is a subject of ongoing debate.

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.