Telemedicine Drives Patient Loyalty
September 17, 2012
Telemedicine provides patient, brand loyalty and financial benefits to any organization that successfully deploys the solution. Telemedicine encompasses clinical, research, and education applications. It is useful in the emergency department, ambulatory setting, intensive care unit, rehabilitation centers, outpatient clinics, and within the patient’s home. Some common use cases include:
Emergency Consultations - Swift diagnosis and treatment can save lives, prevent further damage and improve quality of life for patients.
Time Sensitive Consultation for Tissue Plasminogen Activator – Enables consult on therapies for acute ischemic stroke, such as tissue plasminogen activator (tPA).
Tumor Board – Used to bring remote care providers, the patient and the patient family into the meetings. Partnership with Referring Physicians - The specialist provides consultation to discuss EEG and MRI, CT imaging results and other clinical matters.
Remote Patient Visits - Allow patients and their families to consult with medical experts in real time, without the expense and stress of traveling far from home.
Remote Patient Monitoring - Provides remote patient monitoring in clinical environments to support timely clinician intervention.
Chronic Disease Care Management - Enables remote appointments with a physician or case manager for counseling, visual assessment, post-appointment follow-up, and care plan execution and management.
TeleRehabilitation - Allows care providers to provide education and demonstrate exercises and check on patient progress while helping patients avoid long-distance travel; saving time and resources.
Physician Education - Allows Grand Rounds, training, continuing education lectures, and quality assessment and improvement meetings to take place remotely.
Clinical Trials and Research - Hospitals engaged in trials use telemedicine to screen, obtain consent from, enroll, randomize, treat, and follow up patients from rural hospitals.
TelePharmacy – Provide pharmacy services to residents in rural or underserved areas where a shortage of pharmacists exists.
Clinical Translation Services – Supports effective healthcare communications and can help ensure compliance with laws regarding ability to communicate with Limited English patients.Remote care delivery programs, telemedicine, interpretation services, and specialist consults all lead to improved care, productivity gains and strategic cost reductions.
Patient Benefits
Enable utilization of specialized talent matched with patient need
Expedite transport and placement of patients that require intensive or specialty care services
Ability to provide remote assistance if a patient’s condition suddenly worsens
Improve likelihood of families being able to continue care at their local hospital
Reduce patient and family travel Improve the continuity of care once a patient is discharged
Improve patient compliance and quality of life
Provide education opportunities offered via teleconferencing
Provide primary and specialty care services to underserved residents
Loyalty and Brand Development
Competitive advantage
Enhance patient and staff satisfaction and loyalty
Insure patient and referring physician loyalty
Decrease out-migration of patients seeking specialty services
Increase reach of services and bring patients into the organization’s network
Financial Benefits
Create new revenue streams and avoid lost revenue
Better control of medical expenses
Reduction in patient readmissions
Remote patient monitoring extends the quality of care within a cost-effective delivery model
