Selling points for telehealth are:
- reduced transportation costs for the patient
- increased access for the patient
- faster access for the patient
This works for everyone. However, telehealth as a contact method only goes so far. What the practitioner needs is telepresence; the ability to at least monitor and observe the patient. Cell phone camera's can give the physician a visual; and there are a growing number of tools that can be used to conduct tests on the spot and transmit via the cell phone. What is really needed is an inexpensive, all-in-one vital signs tester that can be plugged into a PC or cell phone.
Some of that telepresence is being done today, but only for those patients with a chronic disease condition. "a widely cited study by Meyer, Kobb, and Ryan reports that the combination of home telemonitoring, video visits, and coordinated care resulted in substantial improvements in health outcomes among a group of elderly veterans with a variety of chronic diseases. These gains included a 40 percent reduction in emergency room visits, a 63 percent reduction in hospital admissions, and a 60 percent reduction in hospital bed days of care, along with similar reductions in nursing home care.
These types of outcomes also deliver significant savings to the health care system, particularly for the chronic illnesses that account for roughly 80 percent of increases in Medicare costs." http://www.betterhealthcaretogether.org/www/docs/broadband.pdf?phpMyAdmin=pNQzFfRY2rM-BvRgobr2qypOpU5, 20 May 2010. Like I said before, that doesn't work real well for a family or single person with an acute care problem.
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